Change
by Rebalanced
Summary: What if the Red Lotus is right? What if they're what the world needs? Explore a darker Book 3: Change, with an injection of altered/original characters, story arcs, and world building that will kick off a four book series. Flirting with an M rating.
1. Prisoners of War

_**Notes from the author:**_

 _ **Thanks for giving this story a shot! I've spent a long time developing this series, planning as far out as four books worth of adventures for this AU, and I'm sure you'll appreciate it.**_

 _ **This story kicks off a long series set in the avatar world we know, starting with a totally reworked Book 3: Change. What makes it special is the addition of new characters, exploration of new and existing motives, and introduction of sophisticated story and character arcs. This initial chapter is where the story begins to diverge from canon, and so I ask you to bear with some strong similarities to the story we all know. Shortly, you'll see how drastically everything has changed, and how this is a very unique, extraordinary look at this world.**_

 _ **For future reference, I have planned four full length books for this series, starting with this adaptation of Change. The following three books will be entirely original, merely taking some inspiration from Balance.**_

 _ **Finally, a note on new chapters. I hope to use whatever feedback you can offer to inform future chapters. The story won't change, but the writing may.**_

 _ **Thanks again!**_

* * *

 _Eyes open._

 _He could almost hear the click as his mind adjusted to the spirit world. Zaheer's spirit snapped back into the familiar plane that stretched out before him. The reddish, orange hue of the fiery sky above him lit up the golden valley of trees and shrubbery in Xai Bau's Grove._

 _Back in the physical world, his body was trapped, imprisoned, but he wasn't contained. Here, he could feel a warm breeze waft over him, smell the sentient aroma of a crisp autumn day, and hear leaves rustling in the wind and the soft gurgle of the lagoon all around him. Of course, it was more illusion than reality, and he knew that. But at least he had this._

 _He took his first step through the muddied grass. Before him stood a towering trunk that sprawled out into a mesmerizing maze of branches, topped with a golden tuft of leaves, and, at its base, the smooth surface of a familiar stone._

 _He took his spot atop the stone, closing his eyes once more. Of the thirteen years since his imprisonment, he estimated he spent at least half in this very spot. Much of that time he spent learning, staying informed, but there was only so much he could do. The spirits… they never cared much for human matters, and no human he could reach could tell him about his friends. He could always come here, escape his harsh reality and experience a better world, but they couldn't._

 _In the physical world, his body was currently sitting in the same position he was in now: sitting on the ground, legs crossed, palms laid gently on his knees from when he lulled himself into this world… but around him, darkness. In that world, he faced almost eternal darkness, as no light could pierce the cold façade of his metal prison. It was only for a few short moments each day that he would catch a glimpse of sunlight, but the light was always too intense. His eyes could never adjust before the door closed once again, and so he could never see the outside world. For the last thirteen years, this was the only world he really knew._

 _And that was the danger, wasn't it? It would be easy to get lost here. To reject his cruel existence and stay here, in a world without the infection of humans. No wars, no smoke, no loss; the universe as it was meant to be._

 _But that was why he couldn't stay. The fight—the fight that so few people were willing to fight—was in that other world, and abandoning it meant abandoning them. He couldn't do that._

 _And so he opened his eyes._

 _His spirit latched back onto this other realm, meeting his body once again, and the weight of thirteen years of suffering hit him like a boulder. In the spirit world, he was free of all his body's anguish. No fatigue, no aches. But every time he came back, it would return all at once._

 _Maybe that's why it took him those few moments to realize there was light flooding his cell once again. From across his cell, the bright white of the sun attacked his vision, but, from where he sat, he remained in darkness._

 _The muscles in his knees cracked as he stood to face the wall behind him, and he raised his arms behind his head. The greasy locks of his hair—unwashed and unkempt for thirteen years—pervaded his finger nails._

 _He shouted, "Happy?" behind him, ushering in the guards who must've been waiting for him to get into position. They would only open the cell and leave him his food once he complied. They made so many rules, but it was either that or starve. If he starved, he wouldn't be much use to anyone, and so he played along. For years._

 _But something was different. No noise came from outside the cell, meaning the guards weren't bringing his food._

 _He turned around, but the light blinded him once again. He raised an open palm to shield his eyes, and they adjusted slowly. For the first time, he could see the sky. The REAL sky. But what struck him more was the fact that his view wasn't interrupted by any bars. The door was open._

 _He stumbled slowly into the open doorway, holding onto the frame in order to prop himself up as he lifted one foot and then the other over the threshold._

 _He took a cautious step away from the door, expecting to be ambushed by the guards at any moment, but nothing happened. He just… walked. He could see now that his prison was a small pagoda-like structure sitting atop one of the many pillars in a very familiar place: Wulong Forest. He smirked at the irony that they would build his prison HERE of all places._

 _He walked cautiously across the bridge that connected his cell to the mainland. It had to be a few hundred feet, and, based on the beams and gears alongside it, it looked it could retract. Was that the plan? After thirteen years, they had had enough of him, and now they were luring him out just to rip the ground from under him? Maybe._

 _Maybe that wouldn't be so bad._

 _No, that wasn't it. At the end of the bridge, at the base of what looked like a watchtower, laid the familiar blue and white robes of a White Lotus guard. The man, was he dead?_

 _As he approached the body, Zaheer could see the man's face twitch. Not dead. He stood over him, considering the man. Did he have a family? Did they know that his job involved keeping an older man in darkness and solitude for more than a decade?_

 _He crouched next to the body, inching his face close to the man's. He was young. And breathing. "No," Zaheer said to nobody in particular. He reached his arms into the man's cloak, wrapping his arms around the body beneath him, and he pulled._

 _He hefted the man onto his shoulder and walked toward the edge. Looking down, Zaheer couldn't see through the mist rolling through the forest. It looked as if the ground didn't even exist here, like the rock columns just went down, and down, and down._

 _He threw the man into the mist._

* * *

At least half a dozen fur robes draped her withered frame, but they could do nothing to keep out the cold. She would be lying if she said it hadn't crossed her mind a few times over the last thirteen years that maybe she should shed them altogether and let nature take its course…

Thirteen years on the brink of hypothermia, chained to the ground by her god damn forehead, forced to squat in a huddle with her face inches from the frozen metal of the floor. This is what the White Lotus does. That thought alone, the hilariously pompous, dishonorable, and corrupt society for the elite, is all that kept her waiting, patiently, for her moment. That they would condone _this_ —that was all the fuel she needed.

Not that she wouldn't kill for some real fuel.

A lock of greasy, unwashed hair fell into her view as a frigid wind threatened to whip her hood away, but all she could manage to do was retreat further into herself, where the tiny ember that used to give her an identity would just barely keep her alive.

Just as the wind died down and she thought she might have a moment's rest from the elements, she could feel the metal floor begin to vibrate. A clunking sound broke the silence, followed by the unyielding screech of rusted metal, frozen from years of disuse.

P'li's eyes shot wide open. It wasn't time for a shift change, and the guards never took that elevator. She hadn't had a visitor in years, why now? She crawled as close to the gated doorway as she could reach, but the chains on her forehead dug backward into her temples, keeping her just inside the shadow of the cell, never to reach the dim light, and she waited expectantly for the doors of the elevator to open.

When they finally did, she was surprised to see the weathered face of the once-Firelord, followed by the Avatar's father, and, were they Unalaq's children? Yes, the twins, that made sense, but what did that mean for Unalaq?

Then it hit her, why they must have finally shown up after all these years. She could feel her lips twist into a wicked smirk, exercising muscles she forgot ever existed, and she voiced the question she already knew the answer to. "He's out, isn't he?"

* * *

The dimly lit green walls bore no features except for the lone, circular symbol of the Earth Kingdom, perched just below the fringe of darkness. The shadowy, cavernous room practically exuded the grim clang of a gong.

For a moment, a slight smirk wormed its away across Kai's lips. A joke. It's healthy. Then his eyes darted up at the hidden blackness above him. It was better than facing the reality at ground level, or however deeply they had been buried into the earth.

The gray robes of an Earth Kingdom recruit—no, _slave_ —barely covered his small frame, and he noticed how they made every one of the prisoners here look nearly identical. It made sense; if you want to build a shadowy, unsanctioned legion out of unwilling citizens, then removing their identities is first on the list.

"You are all the property of the Earth Kingdom," a deep, commanding tone announced to the line of new airbenders. Kai gave him a sideways look of defiance, his eyes boring holes in the man who would enslave his own people, but he kept quiet. "You will become the Earth Queen's elite fighting force, and protect her at all costs. It is your duty to serve the Earth Queen." The man's level, booming voice exuded power. He was the guy in charge, and, naturally, Kai hated his guts. Not just because he was trying to enslave them, no. Because this is the kind of tool that thinks he earned this. You can't throw a bunch of kids in a cellar and pretend it makes you better than them. Fuck right off, bro.

Of course, he couldn't very well say that out loud.

Airbenders, paired on opposite sides of the room, began exchanging volleys to train, as if brainwashed into this routine. Kai dodged to the left as a little blast of air breezed past him, and he spun around in order to unleash a kick that would slash a gust of wind into his opponent. Before he let the blow fly, however, the kid opposite him cringed. "Go easy on me! I'm not that good!"

A wave of compassion gushed over Kai, and his expression softened as he jabbed a measly blast that his partner easily sidestepped, grinning in appreciation.

Footsteps. Without even turning around, Kai knew what was about to happen. He could feel the blood drain from his face as the atmosphere in the room dropped ten degrees. "Never show mercy!" The man's gravelly scolding made him jump. "Now attack your opponent, soldier. Like you mean it!"

That tripped him up. He had become many things while he was on the run, but he wasn't going to let this man define his new identity. "I'm _not_ a soldier!"

The response he received, however, was more daunting than anything he expected. The man replied ominously, "You will be when I'm through with you."

Kai froze. Unable to find the words to dig himself out of this dangerous situation, but unwilling to comply.

Before he could continue, another voice broke up the exchange. One of the older prisoners further down the line, where they were still sparring, had just disposed of his opponent with a spiraling whirlwind that blasted into his torso, driving him off his feet and sending him into the wall behind him with a thud. As the victor turned his attention to Kai, he quickly took stock of the Dai Li's disapproval. His fingers laced through the tuft of dark hair clouding his eyes, brushing it upwards where it stuck there due to the grime from being down there for who knew how long, and he stepped into the ring. "He was just helping his fellow soldier. It's called teamwork."

The man, the Dai Li guy, whatever, didn't seem as reasonable as the airbender expected. Ignoring any merit, he rebuked, "If you have time to defend your friend, then maybe you're not getting enough practice yourself!" He struck his earthbending position, and began to launch volley after volley at the man who saved Kai from that very fate.

The airbender threw the first disk to the side with a swipe of his arm, then he used the other to create a puff of air that shielded him from the next. Another rocketed toward his stomach, but he spun around and sidestepped it. As his body reared back toward his assailant, another disk crossed the distance. Just before it made contact, he unleashed a powerful wave that not only shielded him from defeat, but it also blasted the rock straight back at the man.

Kai barely held in a laugh, and instead he released a trumpeting "pfft!" that sounded like an elephant rhino.

The leader-dude clutched his stomach as he regained his footing, and, instantly, he threw his arms toward the ground, summoning a mound of earth that consumed the only person there with the balls to stand up to him. "I guess you're not as good as you thought," he taunted his captive. His gaze shifted over to Kai. "Throw them in the hole."

Two pairs of hands grabbed him at the shoulders, dragging him off his feet, and his knees scraped the ground as the Dai Li lugged him away from the other airbenders. Side by side with the man who saved him from the Dai Li's wrath, Kai noticed the older airbender looked out of it. He was barely conscious, forcing the Dai Li to drag his limp body away without any regard for the uneven terrain as it ripped into his skin.

The two prisoners fell over each other as their captors threw them in a small, stone cell, landing in a mess of limbs. As soon as the wall closed behind them, though, the older one picked himself out of the pile and brushed himself off.

Kai was taken aback at his cheery attitude. Was this guy getting off on being thrown into a cramped, little hole in the ground? _Antiestablishment my ass,_ Kai thought, wondering what he got himself dragged into.

The man looked perfectly comfortable. Sure, he was coated in dirt and sweat and covered in nothing but tattered gray robes, but he was… beaming!

Apparently picking up on Kai's bewilderment, he spoke up. "What? You act like you've never done this before." When the younger airbender only responded with a raised eyebrow, he continued, "Name's Brok, what about you?"

* * *

Over the years, P'li had come to see a certain beauty in the icy crevasse. The way the ice curled around the rock hidden beneath, she could make out the years of freezing that transformed this region from a meager ravine to a wonder of nature.

Of course, this was the same view she has looked at for the last thirteen years, and so it had a way of rubbing her the wrong way.

In all the time she had been here, she had never once caught a glimpse of the actual sky. There were just a couple of minutes each day in which a sliver of sunlight found its way to the bottom of this prison, and she could see the warmth just inches from her cell. But the chains ensured it stayed out of reach.

On the face of it, tonight was a night like any other. Cold and alone, her decade-long motto. However, there was one thing that made this night different: the tension. She couldn't see anything, couldn't hear anything, and couldn't do anything, but, hundreds of feet above her, her enemies were preparing for war.

She sat still, in silence, waiting.

The hum of an engine rippled through the night, roaring over the meek howling of the wind, reverberating around the icy crevasse. Then, screams. It was too far away to hear the rush of battle, but the screams were unmistakable. Growing, even. As one of the screams grew, she could hear it moving closer and closer, and then the body dropped out of the night sky, onto the cold floor in front of her cell. Was it the first casualty? Who knew, but it wouldn't be the last.

Then a figure landed before her, and P'li's expression curled into one of pure excitement. "Ming-Hua."

Never one to be sentimental, she skipped straight through the small talk. "Let's get you out of here," Ming-Hua suggested.

P'li noted the coarseness of her friend's voice, but this thought was thrown into the background when Ming-Hua seeped water into the door to her cell. When she froze it, the door broke straight off its hinges. In another moment, Ming-Hua lashed out at P'li's constraints, and she was free for the first time in thirteen years. She rose from her stoop, and her knees almost buckled under the exertion. She only ever had enough mobility to lay down or kneel, and so her muscles struggled to keep her body upright while she took her first step out of her cell. If she hadn't been able to hold onto Ming-Hua as they ascended the wall, it wouldn't have mattered that she was free of her cell; there was no way she could have escaped this hole on her own.

Clinging to the back of her oldest friend, P'li gazed up at the stars for the first time since the White Lotus threw her in there. They lit up a night sky that seemed so foreign to her, as if for the last decade the world had been nothing more than metal and ice on all sides.

When the pair reached the end of their climb, the world suddenly erupted into a battleground. The wintery landscape was dotted with ice pillars, scarred with a pool of lava, and littered with what were most likely unconscious bodies covering the entire distance between them and a truck.

But the battle raged on. She could see Ghazan unleashing wave after wave of lava in order to ward off a fully-grown dragon. P'li remembered seeing the dragon, Druk, once before, when it was hardly any bigger than a hog monkey. His red scales gleamed in the light of Ghazan's lava, protecting him from burns that no rider could endure. That meant that Zuko was… there! Further than Ghazan's skirmish with the dragon were Zuko and Tonraq, fending off Zaheer.

Zaheer.

Warmth returned to her heart at the very sight of her love, and with it came the strength to run into the fight. "Zaheer!" She shouted, tears streaming down her still frozen cheeks.

When Zaheer turned at the sound of his name, he looked awestruck. Of course, he knew she would be here; that's why they came. However, their very proximity was something neither of them were ready for. The world washed away as P'li lost herself in the stormy gray of his eyes, his strong jawline, and even the way his scar cut through his left eyebrow. His was the face she saw every night in her dreams, and the memory of their time together fueled what little hope remained in her after all those years.

Then a fireblast cut into his side, and Zaheer went tumbling across the icy terrain. "NO!" She shouted, as if her desperation could convince the monsters in front of her to show mercy. Tonraq lunged into the air with a shard of ice wrapped around his fist, prepared to strike Zaheer down, and P'li's autopilot kicked in. In one breath, she focused on her target.

 _KRAKKA_

 _BOOOOOOOM_

* * *

"Lin?" Tenzin asked in clear bewilderment. If he were expecting anyone else, she was sorry to disappoint, but it was time to wipe that goofy look off his face and get down to business. "What are you doing here?"

"What?" She could hear Korra interrupt from behind. Once the Avatar made her way between Lin and Tenzin, she just kept pestering them. "What's going on?"

Without breaking eye contact with Tenzin, Lin figured she should fill in the blanks for the man in front of her. "We just got word from Lord Zuko—"

"Lord Zuko?" That came from, who? That's the earthbender kid, right?

"—Zaheer and the others have escaped," Lin finished without missing a beat.

Tenzin, however, was less composed about the news. He looked ridiculous, with his shocked expression and pointed beard. "How is that possible?"

Lin just scowled at her former partner, impatient with his deliberation. "Look, all we know is, he's out. We need to move."

She could see Tenzin trying to piece the whole thing together. She's the chief of the damn police, but you don't see HER wasting time wondering about the escape. Fact is, he's out, and they need to focus on getting him back IN before anything else happens.

Then out of nowhere Tenzin seemed to change. A dozen emotions cycled through his face: surprise, fear, confusion, nothing useful. "No," he denied the possibility that one of the world's most dangerous criminals just escaped. "Is he an airbender now?"

"What? No!" Lin couldn't believe the leap in logic there. "Don't be ridiculous. We have no reason to think that." That'd be a DAMN big coincidence, wouldn't it? Awfully convenient.

Before Tenzin had the opportunity to respond, Korra stepped in. "Alright, hold on!" She said in exasperation, forcing Lin to finally grace her with her attention. "Will you quit ignoring me and tell me what's going on? Who's Zaheer?"

Lin exchanged a look with Tenzin, who clearly was looking for some reassurance about what to tell her. Lin, however, wasn't about to get involved in their business, and she waited for him to make his move.

The airbending master visibly resigned himself to the truth, and he began to spill his guts. "Shortly after we found out you were the avatar, Zaheer and four others attempted to kidnap you. Luckily, your father, Lord Zuko, and I were there to stop them," he explained. "We apprehended the criminals and locked them away in prisons designed to impair their abilities."

That may be brushing things off a bit too liberally. Although she never saw one of the prisons, she remembered hearing about them when she first became Chief of Police.

"So that's why you and my dad sheltered me away," Korra wondered aloud.

"It was for your own safety," Tenzin assured her solemnly.

Korra appeared deep in thought for a moment, her hand grasping her chin. "Was he there just now? My dad?"

Lin inhaled sharped in a hasty reaction to that question. Yes, he was, but then what? What's she supposed to say? _Yeah, he's dead._ She deserved to know, and Lin sure didn't want to hide it from her, but is now the right time? She could always pull Korra aside after they were on the move… "We, uh, don't have all the details yet."

Then Lin heard the voice of one of her detectives speak up behind her. "Why were they trying to kidnap Korra?" Mako asked tentatively, unsure of what to make of this information.

Lin glanced back over her shoulder at the detective, and explained why she couldn't answer that question. "We spent thirteen years interrogating them, but they never broke. To this day, no one knows what their motive was." She took a step toward Korra, and she changed to a more commanding tone. "Now we need to get you back to Republic City where I can protect you."

Korra's stoic determination threw a wrench in her plans. "No. I'm not running."

Lin's face scrunched up in frustration. "Korra, you don't understand. You're in serious danger. These criminals are like nothing you've ever faced before."

Then, in true Avatar Korra fashion, the young woman in front of her made it clear she wasn't going to budge. "Look, I'm not a little kid anymore. You don't need to protect me! I came here for one thing: to find airbenders, and I'm not leaving without them."

Frankly, Lin didn't know what else she expected from the Avatar. Korra had a long history of stubborn, hotheaded behavior, and Lin held no illusion that she could change her mind. If she at least got on board, then she could still do her job within the Avatar's own plans. "Fine, let's get them and get out of here. Where are they?"

"In a military compound," Korra responded too quickly. "And we're busting them out."

"So you want to make an enemy of the Earth Kingdom, is that it?" A high pitched wail came from the entrance to the apartment, and, to Lin's horror, the twisted, old face of the lavishly decorated Earth Queen stood before them.

* * *

"They'll be here any minute, I'm telling you!" Kai assured his cellmate from the comfort of their lovely, literal hole in the wall. It had been hours since they were thrown in here, but he wasn't about to lose hope now. By this point Jinora had to know what was up. They were coming.

"If you want to get out of here, I can get on board with that," Brok told him, "but it's time to realize we might be on our own. I don't care if your girlfriend's on her way or not!"

"She's not my girlfriend!" His cheeks blushed in embarrassment. This guy hadn't even met Jinora, was it that obvious?

The older airbender took a deep breath and muttered, "Here I thought I had my fill of this shit."

Kai had to admit, the pair of boys had been waiting in this cramped, little cave for a while now. There was barely enough room for one person to lay on the ground, and, as they sat on opposite sides of the cell, their legs were tangled in a mess. It was hot, he was tired, and this couldn't get more uncomfortable. Maybe there WAS something they could do.

As if reading Kai's thoughts, Brok changed tactics. "Do you want to sit here and wait for your little princess to save us, or do you want to show her what you can do?"

Kai turned his attention to the stone wall that closed them into this place. His head lolled against the wall behind him. Sweat drenched his body due to the stale air and closeness between them. He was starting to get claustrophobic.

They were getting rescued.

Jinora was coming.

But what if she wasn't?

* * *

Hannu jolted upright in his bed, a cold sweat coating his body from head to toe. How many hours had passed since they were locked in the barracks? How many hours had he been laying there, waiting for sleep to come? Throughout the night, as he laid on the cold, rock slab that passed for a bed, his mind continued to race with thoughts of the kid who showed him so much compassion earlier that day and how he, Hannu, stood back and watched as he was thrown to the badgerwolves.

But what could he do? If their training taught him anything, it's that he was no master, and the Dai Li would rip him apart. Hell, he couldn't even get through that damn door!

He raised his right hand to rub his temple, wincing from the impossibility of the situation. This was his new reality, and the sooner he accepted that the better off he would be.

Sleep would have to come eventually. He lowered his back onto the earth beneath him, shifting in discomfort, and he closed his eyes.

 _CHOOOM!_

Hannu's body flung off the bed with a yelp, toppling over the side and onto the equally comfortable floor.

An explosion? His hands quickly grabbed at his torso, checking that everything was in one piece, but there were no bruises, burns, missing limbs, or anything. He must have just fell off the bed in excitement.

Then he saw the door, or, more accurately, the remains of the earthen wall that once locked them in. A faint light streamed in through the new opening, revealing two figures scuttling over the jagged edges, knocking free the loose rock that remained.

Hannu narrowed his eyes at the intruders, but he could only make out the silhouettes. The shorter one had a bunch of scrawny limbs jutting out of it and a mess of shaggy hair on top. The taller one was filled out a bit more, but what he noticed most was that neither figure wore the robes of a Dai Li agent. These were other prisoners.

"Everyone remain calm," the shorter shadow addressed the growing mass of waking airbenders. "We're getting out of here."

* * *

It was hard to believe that this time yesterday he was sitting in a lavish apartment surrounded by bags and bags of gold he nicked off Earth Kingdom nobility… at least, considering where he was now, running through a dank cavern with no end in sight. Every few feet wooden supports would interrupt the cold stone walls, and if it weren't for the trumpeting footsteps of two dozen airbenders echoing through the hall, this whole place would be silent.

That little detail was something Kai couldn't ignore. Sure, he didn't WANT them to try to stop him, but where the hell were they?

Kai raced through the shallow light of the tunnel alongside Brok and a horde of other airbenders, ready to take on whatever might come, but… nothing.

Starting to feel a bit winded, Kai had to voice his concern between breaths. "Doesn't this" _Huff._ "seem weird" _Huff._ "to you?"

The older airbender seemed to have a bit of an edge over him, and instead his words were only coated in breath. "Yeah," he said with a noticeable levity to his voice. "I was looking forward to cracking some skulls!"

Kai mirrored his new friend's smile at that comment. What he wouldn't give to—

All of Kai's thoughts went out the window when they rounded a corner and found three Dai Li agents standing in their way.

"Hey!" One of the agents shouted, surprised at their appearance. "You're not supposed to be here!"

Before the man even finished that sentence, however, Brok was upon them. As soon as the last word escaped the agent's lips he found his face in the dirt, swung around in Brok's palm until he lost balance and smashed into the ground. One of his friends was faster, jutting his hand toward Brok in order to rocket one of their signature earth fists into his gut, but it never found its mark. Instead, Brok twisted around in order to deal with the assailant behind him with a swift kick to his torso, swiping him sideways into his fallen ally. That move put Brok in close enough proximity so the last agent that remained threw a simple jab with his fist rather than any fancy-elite-earthbender-kind-of-thing, but it didn't take. Instead, Brok unleashed a wave of air from his core that overwhelmed the man, propelling him far down the next corridor.

"Woah."

The voice came from behind Kai. Was that the guy he was sparring with earlier? Never caught his name. Still, he echoed the sentiment. "Ch-yeah!"

Brok, however, didn't bask in his win. Before Kai could react, Brok had the nearest Dai Li agent by the collar. "WHERE IS SHE?" He shouted.

Kai was taken aback. The man before him seemed so different than the one he got to know in that cell. After the briefest moment in which the Dai Li agent seemed as baffled as Kai, Brok did something else Kai hadn't thought to expect out of this guy: he bawled his fist, ready to strike the man in the face in the next second.

Kai didn't give him that second. He jumped up behind him and pulled his fist away. "The hell are you doing?" Kai asked. "Let him go!"

For a moment, Kai wasn't sure what would happen. Brok's eyes bored holes into Kai, glaring like he might try him next.

Then it just evaporated. Brok dropped the man, and his expression grew warm again. "Ah, yeah, let's go!"

Kai considered whether he should keep that little exchange in mind in the future, but the thought left his mind when they reached the end of the corridor. A large, oak door stood in their way. At first, he wondered why this wasn't just another earth wall like the rest of the compound seemed to be, but once Brok blasted the door off its hinges he decided he really didn't care.

Light spilled in through the new opening, forcing Kai to shield his eyes after spending the last day underground without any more than a lantern at any point. Gazing through his outstretched palm into the bright sky of a new morning, he almost tripped over the leftover debris that was once the door.

"Careful," Brok warned him, clearly struggling to adjust to the new light just like Kai.

Kai tightened his lips into an affirmative look, and he trudged forward. When they reached the top of the stairs leading into open air, they found a great monolith before them. The walls of the Earth Queen's palace towered over them, and from where they stood outside the Earth Queen's temple they could see the entire palace.

What surprised Kai was the bustle going on above the surface. Dai Li agents were scrambling past the palace from all around them, some even running straight past the group of airbenders without so much as a glance. They wondered why they faced so little opposition below, but whatever the answer was laid on the opposite side of the palace grounds.

* * *

Korra's body skittered against the hard stone that paved the palace grounds. She twisted her hand around in order to get enough purchase on the ground to lift herself up, legs still splayed on the ornate earth carvings beneath her.

This was not going well. The pain shooting through her back from the blow that landed her on the ground made it impossible for her to pick herself up without inviting a world of pain, but it was the dull ache in her left arm that worried her more. Was her shoulder dislocated? Or was the arm broken? Either way, this wasn't the time for it. Combine that with all the new bruises dotted along her sides, and it was pretty clear: the Dai Li were wrecking her.

When she finally got back on her feet, she found herself surrounded by the Dai Li. Individually, each of them was a skilled opponent, but that was nothing she couldn't handle. Together, however, they were legion.

And waiting for her. Baiting her next strike.

She saw Mako and Bolin toward her left, back to back within their own horde of Dai Li. To the other side, Lin whipped her cables around another Dai Li agent as she and Jinora protected a downed Asami, and Tenzin appeared in the distance, evading them across the rooftops. Korra watched as Tenzin landed on the following roof, but in the same moment he regained his balance he took a blow straight into his chest. Her airbending master fell two stories back to the palace grounds, looking just like Korra had a second ago.

If one thing were clear, it was that this strategy wasn't working. Korra gazed across the sea of Dai Li facing her, and she knew it was time to end it. She closed her eyes for the briefest moment, and the power overtook her.

Korra's eyes lit up in the bluish white of the avatar state, and she became invincible. A blast of wind exploded from her center, and it forced all the Dai Li onto their asses, sliding across the palace grounds.

There was nothing, no one that could stand against the full might of the avatar state. This was true power, and it was time the Earth Queen knew it. She turned to face her, the craggily faced bitch, and she let the power gush through her. A violent wind swirled around her, lifting her in the cyclone, causing every loose article to billow wildly. The wind forced her arms to stretch out, preparing her to deliver the blow she needed, and she tensed—

"AUGHHH!" She screamed. Pain shot up and down her arm, the same arm that she injured, and she fell to the ground, ejected from the avatar state.

She crashed to the earth in a heap. Korra could hardly collect all the distraught pieces of her mind while she knew that, of course, the Dai Li would be upon her once more.

Except they weren't. What she heard next was a series of low grunts, sounds of Dai Li being tossed along the ground once again. She opened her eyes, and she found that the airbenders—even Kai—had made their way out of wherever the Earth Queen had been keeping them. They were the cavalry!

Korra picked herself up once more, and she found the pressure totally removed from all her friends. Asami, Jinora, Lin, Tenzin, Mako, and Bolin were free of the Dai Li, rooting for their new allies.

Then the shrill voice of the Earth Queen broke through the cheers. "My elite army!" She began. "I see your _loyalty_ still needs some work!" It was on the word _loyalty_ that Hou-Ting's voice dripped with disgust.

Korra had just about enough of this crazy bitch. "We're getting out of here!"

The Earth Queen, however, didn't seem to realize that she had been outgunned. "These airbenders are Earth Kingdom citizens, and I am their queen. Taking them will constitute an act of war!"

For a moment, Korra considered this. She was right, they _were_ Earth Kingdom citizens, and abducting them is a dangerous move. But, wait, they weren't just citizens, they were _prisoners_. Hou-Ting's prisoners!

"If you disobey me, I will bear down on you with the entire force of my Kingdom!"

That may be a loaded threat, but this was a human rights mission. There was no way Korra could leave the airbenders with her, even if it meant dismantling everything here. Korra made her decision, and it showed. She ripped apart the earth beneath the Queen's feet, and she went tumbling into the dirt.

They were getting out of here.

* * *

For a street rat like Kai, there was nothing more satisfying than watching the Earth Queen tumble into the dirt. Well, nothing, except for what would come next.

"Kai!" Jinora screamed. When she first said his name, there were still loads of airbenders and Dai Li between them, but they covered that ground quickly.

Realistically, it had only been, what, a day, since he last saw her, but so much seemed to change since then. He went from Team Avatar's charity case to an Earth Kingdom noble to an impoverished prisoner in the span of a day, and so he couldn't help but melt into her embrace. "I thought I'd never see you again," he practically sobbed into her shoulder.

He hugged her tightly, not wanting to let go of this moment of peace, but he had to remember they were still in danger. He pulled away and stole another moment to just gaze into her amber eyes, and it hit him how big of a jerk he had been to leave. If he ever needed a wakeup call, this was it.

Then he realized how long he was staring, and his cheeks burned red. He practically flew back, and he started rubbing the back of his neck. But when Jinora stared back at him with a gentle smile and punched his arm, he knew it was okay. "You can't get away from me THAT easily," she teased.

Sadly, that was all the time they could steal before they needed to move. "Jinora! Kai! Come on!" Tenzin hastened them. They had already fallen behind the mass of airbenders, and they rushed behind them toward the airships.

Tenzin and Brok each fell back in order to race alongside them, and it was a good thing they did. In another second, Kai could hear an earth fist whizz past his ear, and he knew the Dai Li were on them once again.

"AGH!" Jinora grimaced as one of the fists pummeled her leg, throwing her off balance.

She stumbled to the ground, and Kai froze. There was no way he was going to leave her again. The Dai Li kept up their onslaught, but he unleashed his own. He bent an arc of wind into the aggressors, forcing them to pause in order to keep their balance.

Kai glanced back and saw both Tenzin and Brok rushing back to help, but he didn't like what they were getting into. He caused the Dai Li to _hesitate_ , but that didn't do a thing to stop them. What was about to happen?

He heard a loud groan ripple through the air as the sky bison came to their rescue. The beast landed directly on top of the first wave of Dai Li, putting itself between each side. "Oogi!" Jinora cheered. "Thanks for the save!"

Tenzin and Brok arrived to the sky bison in time to help Jinora and Kai scramble into the saddle, and they launched themselves after them a moment later.

As Oogi took off, the whole group gazed ahead of them. The sun was just starting to set in front of them, and this wretched day was finally behind them.

They were safe. They were going to escape.

Then Kai lurched forward, a dull pain in his back. Jinora turned to him, and the look on her face was of genuine confusion. But, in another second, that face was gone. An earth fist had latched onto his back, and it ripped him from the saddle.

* * *

Warmth had finally returned. Power had finally returned. Finally, P'li could feel like herself again.

Hours had passed since they made their escape from the Northern Water Tribe prison, and their truck kept barreling through the frozen wasteland ever since. Ghazan led them through the blizzard until they reached a peaceful part of the icy desert, but their journey was far from over. Where they would go next, P'li didn't know, but she knew they were on the right path.

She turned to Zaheer, who sat with her in the back of the truck. He joined her and held her close ever since their escape under the guise of keeping her warm, and she didn't have the heart to tell him she found her fire once again. It was just too… tantalizing.

So she clung to her robes, and she melted into her lover. Hell, she was almost overheating from all these new sensations!

Zaheer, of course, bore a look of stoic determination. She could practically see the gears turning in his mind, calculating their next move. Finally, they were on track once again.

She was surprised when he broke his trance. Shifting his gaze toward her, he fixed her with a passionate gleam. "I want you to know," his hand, holding her close to him, began rubbing her arm. "Not one day went by in that prison when I didn't think of you."

That broke her. She could feel her eyes well with tears, and she dug her face into his embrace. "The years apart only made my love for you stronger," she whispered into his chest. Pulling back, she looked him straight in the eyes. "Deep down, I knew you would find a way to get me out. Just like you saved me from becoming that warlord's killing machine when I was a girl."

Where did that come from? Apparently, Zaheer had the same thought. "P'li… we've never talked about…"

She kisses him. Her tongue darts around in order to shut him up, and, after more than a few seconds of pure passion, she pulls back. "You've shown me what true freedom means."

"I love you too," he responds knowingly.

He leans over, pushing her flat onto the bench, kissing her all along the way. She remembers that Ghazan and Ming-Hua are just a few inches away, separated only by their seats, but then she remembers that she doesn't care.


	2. Dirty Secrets

_Notes from the author:_

 _After only three months, I finally have another chapter for you guys! I'm finally at a point where I should be able to work on the story more consistently, and so the next shouldn't take as long._

 _The latter half of this chapter is where my story makes a huge break from canon, and from here on out you can expect an increasingly NEW story._

* * *

Thirty years' worth of tension knotted the muscles in her neck, and Lin could feel the ache growing as the airship chugged ever closer to the source. She had never been much of a spiritual person, but she figured the reason they found themselves nearing Zaofu, of all places, was that the universe wasn't done fucking with her yet.

Her eyes glossed over the four kids in front of her, unknowingly navigating to a woman quite possibly more dangerous than Zaheer and his gang.

The sound of the engine wheezing its way toward the city was almost deafening. Once Tenzin diverted toward the Northern Air Temple with the newfound airbenders, Lin had to make her peace with bringing these kids to Zaofu. The fact was that it was their best option.

It seemed, at the very least, that her words from the day before had finally sunk in to Korra, and she was starting to understand what sort of danger they were in. Considering the kid recently fought a 300 foot tall red Leviathan that could shoot beams of spirit energy— _and won_ —Lin supposed she earned the right to a little cockiness, but cockiness and recklessness were two totally different things. Based on her clenched jaw and the way she hugged her arms inward, slightly rubbing her left arm with her right hand, Lin detected that Korra was finally wondering whether she made the right choice.

Lin's eyes narrowed. It was hard to tell from her position, sitting on a bench in the back of the bridge while the kids had all gathered near the helm, but Korra's eyes seemed fixated on the black-haired Ty-Lee doll of a girl to her right. Her posture remained unchanged, tighter, if anything. She could only speculate, but it looked like Korra felt guilty for dragging Asami along for the ride, even more than the others. As a nonbender, Asami was infinitely more at risk in the face of the criminals who were after them, but if she were—

Her train of thought flew out of her head immediately once the clouds parted around the airship. She couldn't quite see from her lower vantage point in the bridge, but, if Bolin pressing his face against the glass was any indication, Lin estimated they must be within sight of the city. She couldn't postpone it any longer; she had to make a decision.

"Wow wow wow! An entire city made of metal!" Bolin remarked, snapping Lin out of her little bubble. This was her time to sell it. "Whoohoohoo! You should be right at home, Beifong!"

"Mm," Lin grunted. Where did this kid get off?

Asami brought the ship onto the landing dock, and, immediately, Bolin trotted down the stairs to the landing platform. He seemed way too overeager for Lin's tastes, especially considering what city they just landed in, but it was like he was drawn to the place.

She remained planted in her seat while the kids followed Bolin out, and her head lolled to the side, gazing out the window. A fleet of airships ringed the platform. She could only see so much from her vantage point, but most of the ships were your standard, assembly line Metal Clan airships, except for one oddly-colored ship that bore the insignia of the Southern Water Tribe. With its staggered floors and intricate, pagoda-like exterior, it was clearly more for fashion than function.

At the door, Asami turned to Lin, who remained stuck in the same position she had thrown herself in when she got on the ship ages ago. "Aren't you coming?"

As much as she thought _hell no_ , Lin shrugged off the request more coldly. "What's there to see? It's metal, big whoop. Just do what you have to do, and let's get moving!" She rubbed her chin. "And don't tell anyone I'm here!"

* * *

"And this is the Air Acolyte dining hall, where everyone eats! And THIS is Daw!" Ikki introduced the new airbender to life on Air Temple Island, with all the excitement of an eight year old girl. "He's a new airbender, too, like you, Mibae!"

Daw quickly jumped out of his seat with a gust of wind, thrilled to find a new person going through the same thing he has. "Oh! It's so nice to meet you. How exciting, new friends!" He dusted off his newly worn airbender garb, thrown into disarray in his excitement, and he offered a tenuous wave to the newcomers.

Although she didn't quite trip over herself like Daw, Mibae was just as eager to meet another airbender. The man beside her, with whom she received a tour from Ikki and Meelo, was strangely offputting. Yuro's freshly shaven head and strong features were, uh, unique at best, and the whole package put together was very intimidating.

What she found most strange, however, was that he wasn't even an airbender. Yuro was just some random traveler looking for shelter. Who does that?

The older man had a kind of silent charisma to him, and every time he opened his mouth she was torn between wonder at his deep, captivating tone, and agitation with his ass kissing. Which is probably why she threw out her hand to shake Daw's the minute they were introduced. "Hi! I'm Mibae, nice to meet you!" She babbled. Daw took her hand, and he gave her a toothy grin. Finally, a friendly face to go through all of this with!

She took her hand back and, with just her forefinger, she pushed her glasses back into place. Behind the thick frames, her eyes swirled a swampy green. One look told her the airbender in front of her was a friend.

"OOH! Now let's go show them the 842nd sandalwood tree!" Ikki chimed in.

Mibae didn't know how much more of this she could take; the sun had barely crested over the horizon, but already these airbender kids had them running around like crazy. Nonetheless, she marched out the door alongside Daw and Yuro.

"I've always been fascinated by the Air Nomad's culture," Yuro interrupted their walk. "Did Avatar Aang ever tell you any stories about them?"

Mibae's eyes rolled.

Apparently eager to chirp some more, Ikki's high pitched voice squeaked out: "Well, he liked to tell us some long, boring story about some guy who never ate."

A smiled curled across Mibae's lips. She was just so adorable!

The group stopped once they neared the top of the steps that wound down toward Yue Bay, facing the city. The steep cliffsides rolling down around them shone a brilliant orange in the rising sun. Adorned with vibrant trees that displayed the entire gamut of the rainbow, these cliffs decorated the island with a kind of natural beauty that set it apart from the city.

They also adorned it with enough pollen to make a sky bison blow apart the entire cliff face. "Ahhh-CHOO!" She sneezed at the bay, rubbing her nose with the back of her palm.

"Hey, look!" Daw shouted, pointing his finger down the winding pathway that led into the bay.

Mibae followed the direction of his finger, and she found the old waterbender, Kya, Ikki and Meelo's aunt, trudging up the steps with a younger man close behind her. Once they were only a few steps below them, Kya stopped. "Good news everyone," Kya announced. "We have another one!"

Once the man caught up, he took a spot at Kya's side, and he brushed his hand through his somehow golden hair. Out poured a rich, deep voice, "Hi. It looks like I came to the right place?"

"H-hi." She stuttered. The word 'thirsty' sprang to mind.

* * *

With a swift kick from the side, Wei flung the disc into the second of the three pylons, ricocheting off the metal tower into the wall and then to his brother on the opposite side of the court. They had a good volley going, but it was time to end this. As the disc hurtled back towards him, Wei flipped head first and landed a powerful kick that sent the disc flying straight into the back of the net behind Wing.

"Yeah!" He cheered, exhausted from the long match. The sweat dripping from his skin caused his green tunic to cling to his body, and he raised his arm to wipe the sweat from his brow. He had to admit, his brother put up a good fight, but they both knew he was the champion of Power Disc!

"Nice power, Wei!" He turned and saw his mother standing at the edge of the arena.

He heard a grunt from the opposite goal, and he could see Wing pound the ground in frustration. It was about time his mom saw him wreck Wing! Last time she watched them play, his less attractive twin landed a lucky shot that sent the disc right into his gut, blasting both him and the disc into the back of the net. Not wanting to lose the opportunity to rub in his victory, he shouted for them all to hear, "Ha! Wing goes down!"

Putting his sportsmanship on display, Wei walked over to his brother and helped him up. They might drive each other crazy and taunt the shit out of each other, but there was nothing like having a twin. The two brothers then made their way out of the arena, where their mom was waiting for them with a few guests. Didn't she say something about people coming from Ba Sing Se? He never liked those douchebags. Honestly, they were overdue a good kick in the balls.

When he looked back over to his mom, however, he noticed that these people weren't the usual Ba Sing Se nobility. They, eh, how should he put it? They looked like they _lacked_ sticks up their butts. He and his brother shared a sideways glance, arching their eyebrows.

Once the pair walked to the edge of the arena, still some feet below the group, his mother broke the ice. "Boys, I'd like to introduce you to Avatar Korra and her friends, Mako, Bolin, and Asami." Then, shifting her gaze back to the group, she finished, "I've already told you their names, but this one's Wei and this one's Wing."

Steamrolling straight past that bombshell of an introduction to the _fucking avatar_ , Wei spotted an opportunity. "Um, Mom? You can't even recognize your own sons?" He knew his mother got it right and he doubted he could fool her, but that didn't mean he couldn't try to have a little fun. Then Wing had to go and ruin it.

"No way! The avatar? That's so cool! My name's Wing." Smooth, bro. "Forget what you just saw. I have to let him win sometimes, otherwise he sulks for DAYS!"

Grinning at the flexing buffoon, Korra chuckled and replied, "Nice to meet you. That was quite a game, better luck next time!" Wei couldn't believe his ears, was she actually buying this bull?

Before he got the chance to set the record straight, his mom intervened. "I was just showing them around the place. Why don't you join us?" With a curt nod and a smile, the twins joined the group on their tour.

The twins took up the rear as Su led the group on their tour. Wei clasped his hands behind his head to cool off after the long game of Power Disc. He glanced over to his brother to see his frustrated glare after Wei wiped the floor with him, and he taunted the metalbender with a sly grin.

When they got to Huan's sculpture garden, Wei couldn't help but roll his eyes. What's with his brother and his 'inspiration'? It looked like he was peeling a giant metal banana!

"Huan!" Su interrupted her son's important work, not that his eyes ever left the sculpture. "I want you to meet the avatar and her friends."

"Hello?" Korra says with a shrug. Huan clearly couldn't be bothered to make any new friends, not that Wei was surprised. If he and Wing were the athletes, Huan was the brooding, twenty year old teenager.

"Hey." He offers, without so much as a flinch. His eyes were glued to the metal glob in front of him.

Then, one of the avatar's friends tried to cut through the awkward silence. "Wow, that's a really nice… banana?"

 _Ha! This guy knows what's up!_ Wei thought to himself, perking up at the comment.

"Yes, yes, very life like!" Bolin continued.

Huan sighs in exasperation before suddenly turning to the stranger, his expression seething in anger. "It's not a banana! I was inspired by Harmonic Convergence. It represents the dawning of a new age," he fumed. "OBVIOUSLY!"

"Oh, yeah, oh, no, I can, I can totally see that. I can, wait, woah, let me stand me here, yes, I can see that now. Yes, thank you." Bolin stammered, struggling to recover from what apparently insulted the artist. As they walk out of the garden, Wei could hear Bolin whisper to the other guy in their group, "Banana! I mean that's a banana, right?"

They reached the end of a pathway, where Opal sat on a stone bench, hunched over one of her books in the fresh air and sunlight.

"And this is my daughter, Opal," Su informed the rest of the group, snapping Wei's little sister out of her reading.

"Wow, Avatar Korra," Opal gawked as she stood up. "I can't believe you're really here! You are SO amazing!"

"It's great to meet you, Opal!" Korra assured her, taking her enthusiasm in stride.

"Opal! That's a beautiful name!" Bolin remarked. The timid girl at the center of his attention blushed and tried to hide her face in embarrassment. "I'm Bolin," He offered his hand.

"Opal!" She said, taking his hand in hers. She blushed an even deeper red as she realized her mistake. "But you already knew that!"

As they broke off their handshake, Wei could practically see the events fly right over the earthbender's head. Rather than worrying about this guy with his sister, Wei decided he was amusing. Which was weird. He and his brother always felt very protective of their little sister. Well, Huan might be a mess, and he was younger, too, but at least he had the POTENTIAL to take care of himself. At the very least, he had a knack for metalbending. But Opal? All she had were her books.

Luckily, his little sister recovered from that awkward exchange quickly. "So you're the avatar?" She asked, turning to Korra. "That must be so exciting! I've always loved the stories about Avatar Aang's travels."

The avatar offered a friendly response, but clearly she didn't know her audience. "Heh, really? You're welcome to join us sometime!"

Wei had to stifle a laugh. He just couldn't see Opal doing anything like that! Their mother had always been a, uh, 'home body' when it came to raising her children. When he and Wing tried asking for permission to travel to Republic City to check out a Pro-bending match, she shut them down immediately. That game sounded incredible over the radio! Sure, they were both earthbenders, but either of them would kill for a chance to play. That's why they started to play around with the idea that later turned into Power Disc, but that game really only kept them occupied. No way anyone could step to them in THAT arena.

Then the other woman, Asami, the stunning industry titan that should probably be a model, seemed to remind Korra of one little detail. "Uhh, Korra? Maybe not the right time."

"She's just worried because there are a bunch of crazy criminals after me!" Korra says with just enough sarcasm to indicate it doesn't bother her. The sound of crazy criminals, however, was enough to catch Wei's attention.

"If you're concerned about security, don't be. This is the safest city in the world!" Su brags. "Now I'll see you all at dinner, and come hungry! My chef will knock the taste buds right out of your mouth!" Su concluded the tour before running off.

* * *

"Tonight, for your dining pleasure, I present a seared, wild Kyoshi elephant-koi, paired with a ginger infused pea tendril, and hibiscus root salad," The chef exhibited his hard work for all of Su's guests. He clasped his tattooed arms in front of him, waiting for a response.

"Stunning!" Su complimented before waving him back to the kitchen.

As the chef exited through the doorway, Korra saw another man burst through. This one, however, donned a similar breastplate to Su's. Between that and his softly graying hair, Korra judged he had to be Su's husband. "Sorry, dear, I'm going to have to take dinner in my office. I just had a major breakthrough on the transtation remodel!" A younger man—practically the same person minus 30 years—hurried past him and out of sight, but not without leaving a trail of papers behind him.

"Don't let me stand in the way of inspiration!" Su nodded approvingly. She shifted in her seat to face Korra better. "That was my brilliant architect of a husband, Baatar, and our oldest son. He engineers ALL my husband's projects!"

"Wow, that makes five kids? And a whole city?" Korra observed. The woman sitting beside her wasn't just accomplished, but the perfect role model. She poked at her pea tendril. Well, maybe it's not quite the right life for Korra, but it's damn impressive.

Su brought her back on track. "My children are a blessing," she began. "Founding Zaofu was certainly a massive undertaking, but they're what make it worth it. All of you are the future!" She took a bite of her fish.

Korra couldn't help but smile. Something about this woman was just so… welcoming. Here they were, meeting for the first time, and not only did Su invite her into her home—that could just be because she was the avatar—but she made her feel like she was part of the family.

"MMM," Bolin beamed. "I have to admit, I was pretty skeptical when he said 'pee tendril,' but this is delicious!" He commented with a chuckle.

This earned a laugh from Opal, who was just starting to come out of her shell. "I know, right? I don't think I've ever had a bad meal in my life!"

Bolin, as blunt as always, replied, "Oh, I had plenty when Mako and I were living on the streets." Opal immediately showed her concern, but Bolin just kept going. "You'd be surprised how bad food from a dumpster can be."

Fearing she insulted the young earthbender, she did her best to backtrack. "I'm sorry, I didn't know!"

Luckily for her, she misinterpreted Bolin's response. Korra knew him well enough to know that's just how he is, and so she could only stop cringing once he clarified, "No, no, that's okay! That's all in the past, things are great now! I got to be a pro-bender, won against a dangerous revolution, became a mover star, and now I'm helping the avatar rebuild a whole nation!"

Opal leaned in and fixed Bolin with a look of wonder. "Wow, your life sounds so exciting."

 _Finally, they got their relationship right on track! Bolin, you smooth devil!_ Korra smiled as she witnessed the two developing a bond.

"How's your search for the new airbenders going?" Su asked, pulling Korra's attention back to her own seat.

She looked to the metalbending matriarch seated to her left, and answered, "Honestly, not great. We had to rescue a whole group of them from the Earth Queen."

She was worried that revealing this information might upset Su, who might have some loyalty to the Earth Kingdom, but Su quickly piped up, "Oh, she's horrible! She thinks she can just do whatever she wants!"

"I KNOW!" Korra practically shouted her agreement. When she realized how loud that was, she had to consciously sit back in her seat. Then, quieter, she explained, "I was worried you might think we were criminals or something."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about her here," Su assured her. "I mean the idea of even having a Queen is so outdated. Don't you agree?" She looked at Korra expectantly.

That came as a surprise. The Earth Queen was a crazy bitch, and she probably didn't deserve her power, but she never considered her NOT being the Earth Queen as a possibility. _How could the Earth Kingdom not have a ruler? That doesn't make any sense_ , Korra thought, before saying aloud, "I hadn't really thought about it too much." She couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice.

"Well, you should start. The world is evolving, and the Earth Queen can evolve with it! Just step aside!" Su waved her wrist as if flicking the Earth Queen right off her throne. Korra could admit the Queen was a real pain in the ass, but to think of the Earth Kingdom without its monarch was such a foreign concept.

Then something truly unexpected happened.

The doors flung open to reveal Lin—who insisted she didn't even want anyone to know she was here—and—who was she dragging behind her? All she could see was a mound of brown hair sticking out from behind the metalbender.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Lin shouted over their dinner.

Everyone stopped what they were doing to focus on the scene unfolding in front of them. Most of all, it seemed, Su. "Lin?" She asked with a look of utter astonishment on her face.

Korra raised her eyebrow. "You two know each other?"

The question quickly fell into the background as Lin steamrolled past it. As she reached the center of the room, surrounded on three sides by Su's dinner guests, she grasped the man skidding behind her and tossed him ahead. It was Varrick!

"What are YOU doing here?" Asami asked of the inventor.

"I'm trying to keep the avatar safe, and you're harboring a known criminal?!" Lin continued. "You haven't changed one bit, have you?"

It was then that Korra noticed the scowl of death on Lin's face. She was always rather… ornery, but this was something else.

It seemed like Su finally recovered from the shock of the intrusion. "Lin! I didn't know you were traveling with the avatar!"

"Yeah, big whoop."

Korra's attention turned to Varrick, sitting like a craboctopus at Lin's feet. "Ladies!" He began, dusting himself off. "If I may, the past is the past! I know it, and I know YOU know it!"

He started to pick himself up when Lin planted a foot on his chest, kicking him back to the ground. "How can you honestly sit there knowing what you put our family through?"

That piqued Korra's interest. "Wait, you're family?"

Su tilted her head down in a look of shame. "We're sisters…" she started. "But we haven't spoken in almost 25 years."

The room went silent as those words sunk in. Not only did Korra never know Lin had a sister, but they went _25 years_ without speaking? She was starting to understand why Lin might be in such a sour mood all the time.

Su went on. "Lin, leave him be," she said, motioning to Varrick. "Sit with us. I've wanted to talk to you for years…"

Korra couldn't help herself. "Wait… what's going on?"

Bolin rubbed his chin. Using his best detective voice, he summarized for the group: "There seems to be some 'family drama.' Lin, the brooding police chief we've come to love, Su, the dancing meteorite collector, and Varrick, the crazy mastermind that made me a mover star." He paused, returned to his normal voice, and shouted, "THEY'RE ALL BEIFONGS!"

Varrick bore a priceless look of surprise. "I WISH!" He corrected. Apparently Lin was so startled by that very thought that Varrick was able to sneak away without receiving another kick to the chest. He skulked around the other side of the table from Lin, grasping onto one of the twins' chairs. She lunged forward, but she pulled herself back instead of causing even more of a scene.

"Varrick's the head of my new technology division," Su clarified.

"I've seen the future!" Varrick explained with the sort of confidence that exudes from every eccentric billionaire who once escaped a civil war while disguised as a platypus bear. "And the future is… coding! I'm working on a device that will manage a new, high-speed rail that will revolutionize transportation and shipping as we know it! I call it… the 'Zhu Li'!"

He paused for a moment, apparently expecting applause. When it became clear that the flabbergasted faces in front of him would offer no such applause, he continued. "But that's not all! Suyin's also got me working on—"

"Alright, enough!" Lin yelled over Varrick's news. She looked to her sister. "Do you have any idea what this monster did?"

"Ease up, Lin!" Su responded. "Sure, Varrick's made a few mistakes in his past, but that doesn't mean he should pay for it for the rest of his life. People change. You know I have to believe that."

Su's face twisted into a look of shame when Lin shouted back, "I don't!" The Chief of Police then proceeded to storm out of the room, slamming the door closed with the flash of a metal cable.

* * *

Su found Korra in the map room, examining a replica of Zaofu's city center on a large pedestal in the middle of the room. She realized what a precarious position she was in, and she understood what sort of position that put the avatar in. The older woman took a deep breath. "You know, before I built this city, there was nothing here," she began, drawing Korra's attention from the model so as not to sneak up on her. "I wanted to make my mark on the world."

"It's amazing," Korra stated, gesturing to the pedestal. "Thank you for being so welcoming. I'm sorry for how Lin's been acting."

The two women each took a seat on a couch opposite one another. She needed to do this right.

Su waited for Korra to make the first move, and it wasn't long until Korra broke the silence. "Can I ask, what happened with you two?"

"It's complicated," Su teased, taking her back over thirty years ago. "We didn't have a normal childhood. For the longest time, neither of us knew our fathers, and Toph was always busy being Chief of Police. Because Mom grew up in such a strict house, she gave us all the freedom in the world, hoping we would figure out our own paths."

"That sounds like a good thing," Korra commented, confused as to how this could have messed up their family so thoroughly.

"And in a way, it was, but we both ended up fighting for Mom's attention. Lin followed in her footsteps and became a cop. I was… more of a rebel," she said with a sly glance in Korra's direction. This is where she had to add the pressure. "Mom wasn't too happy with how either of us turned out. When I was sixteen, I left home to explore the world. I sailed the seas on a pirate ship, joined a travelling circus for a while, and lived in a sandbender commune in the desert. It took me a while, but I finally realized what I was looking for was a family. So I bought a plot of land, found a brilliant architect—who later became my husband—and created a place I could truly call home." She took a deep breath, and summoned a tear to her eye.

"It sounds like you've created the perfect life here," Korra noted.

"Almost." Now for the clincher. She shifted her gaze to look Korra directly in the eyes. "I've always wanted Lin to be a part of it, but I gave up hope long ago of her ever coming around."

Korra broke eye contact, and Su could see the avatar struggling to piece together what she could from this information.

* * *

"Enough with the tour, Ikki! It's time we whip these sorry kids into shape!" Meelo squeaked, ready to take charge. Ikki had been leading the group around the island for hours since they met the newest recruit, and, clearly, Meelo was sick of the runaround. Mibae couldn't have agreed more. Her feet were tired, her legs ached, and, if she heard one more bit of trivia about hibiscus roots, she'd jump off the cliff into Yue Bay.

The worst part, though, was hiding all of that. Not wanting to show just how worn out she was in front of the new guy, Kavi, she marched right along and conjured as much energy as she could muster. But she was all out of mustard. Mustard? What? She was out of it.

Meelo propelled himself through the air and onto the roof of the nearby gazebo, where he stared down at the four new airbenders and his sister. Unfortunately for Mibae, Meelo struck a defiant tone. "From now on, you can call me COMMANDER Meelo!"

"Uh, Commander Meelo?" Daw, tired from the day's activities, took a chance. "Can we go back inside now? My feet are killing me."

The sun was nowhere to be seen. They spent hours learning about the island, and the airbender kids had dragged them across the length of it countless times.

Lit only by the flicker of a never ending series of lanterns, Meelo wasn't amused. The lights, shining a dark yellow from below Meelo's perch, primed his next statement to scare the crap out of them. "Do you think this is a joke? March, boys! It's time you learn how to be leaves!" He held up a leaf he picked off the roof.

The horror of those words struck Mibae. She didn't know anything about being a leaf, but she was out too exhausted to find out. Noticing he specified the boys, she took a gamble. "Does that mean I can go inside?"

"I don't want to be a leaf!" Daw pleaded.

The chorus of pleas fell apart after Yuro interrupted the complaints with his own position. "I would be happy to learn from an airbending master, Commander Meelo." He bowed to the raggedy kid.

Meelo jumped down from the roof and gave Yuro an approving look before leading the group onward. She could hear one of the airbenders mutter, "Kiss-up."

* * *

Mibae shrieked as one of the doors slapped her square in the back, pushing her straight into another, and another, and another until she landed on the ground right where she started. She managed to slowly work her way halfway inside the maze of spinning doors, but she was a human being, not a leaf!

As she pushed her glasses back into place, she heard Commander Meelo's criticism. "You call yourself an airbender? Disgraceful!" He then looked at Daw, his next victim, and pointed him toward the doors.

Daw didn't make it past the second door before he slammed face first into the symbol of the Air Nation, sending him rebounding into another door that shot him straight back out, where he landed on his back. Meelo leaned down until his face was inches from Daw's, and he screamed, "BE THE LEAF!"

"But I don't know what that means!" Daw pleaded.

The six year old airbender had them beat. He breezed straight through the ancient airbender relic just before sending the first one of them through, but it was a lot harder than he made it look. She stood up and dusted herself off, not wanting to suffer any more embarrassment in front of the cute new airbender. He just stood to the side, analyzing the contraption in front of them without drawing any of Meelo's attention to himself.

Unfortunately, Meelo was running low on victims. "You!" He yelled, pointing at Kavi. "Get your butt in there!"

"Yes sir, Commander Meelo!" He saluted the young master, not even bothering to hide the smirk in his voice.

He stepped into the ring, and quickly he began to move with the flow of the doors. He spun from door to door with such fluid movements that Mibae thought he might actually make it. He circled his way around to the other side, but he didn't stop there. He continued around the circle until he popped back out on the same side he started, but the doors never even touched him.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Meelo asked him, infuriated that he neither made it nor landed on his ass.

Before he got the chance to reply, something unexpected happened. Yuro, apparently sick of waiting, walked past every one of them and entered the spinning maze. He remained light on his feet and he barely seemed to touch the ground, rotating his body according to each door's movements. In just a few seconds, he rolled out the opposite side, and he bowed to the Commander.

The expression on Meelo's face betrayed his surprise, and the kid gave him an approving nod. "Now THAT man's a leaf!"

"A student is only as good as his master," Yuro thanked the young airbender, and they exchanged bows. The older man made Mibae feel unsettled. Maybe it was how he kept making the rest of them look bad, but she definitely didn't like him.

"Great news!" Kya, Meelo and Ikki's aunt from the Southern Water Tribe, interrupted the proceedings. She brushed a strand of hair back behind her ear before she continued. "I just got a message from Tenzin. He's with a whole group of other airbenders at the Northern Temple, and he wants all of you to join them! We leave first thing in the morning."

Mibae, thrilled to hear they would be able to train with the real master rather than his demonic toddlers, beamed with joy.

Yuro, however, didn't miss a beat. "And the Avatar is with them?"

Surprised at the sudden interest in Korra, Mibae cocked her head at the older man. Kya raised an eyebrow and clarified, "No, apparently she had to split off from Tenzin."

The older man slumped his shoulders, clearly disappointed at the news. "That's unfortunate."

Then she heard the soothing voice behind her add, "Yeah, I was really looking forward to meeting her."

* * *

Standing beside his brother in the bathroom of their private room, Bolin tried his hand at one of the most taxing tasks of the day: brushing his teeth. Not that he would ever NOT do it, but the longer it took the longer he was his brother's captive audience.

Mako, still working on slicking his hair together, teased, "Right, I forgot, your type is dumb mover star or psycho ice princess."

Bolin took the toothbrush out of his mouth. "You know, that hurts a little bit," he said over a mouthful of toothpaste. As he finished the job and spit the toothpaste out of his mouth, he finally considered Mako's words. "Maybe you're right, bro. Maybe Opal IS Bolin material."

"Ooh-kay," Mako replied as he washed all the goop off his hands. Clearly his brother was as skeptical as ever, brushing off his game.

They heard a knock on the door, and Mako went to open it while Bolin stayed put. He twirled the few strands of hair that hung over his forehead, still admiring himself in the mirror. He felt gooood!

"Yeah, he's right in there." Bolin could hear Mako in the other room.

Bolin glanced at the door of the bathroom and practically jumped out of his skin when he saw Opal standing in the frame. The toothbrush bounced off the ceiling and clattered to the ground while he stood there, undoubtedly with some goofy look on his face. So much for his game.

"Opal!" He began. "I, uh, I didn't expect you! How are you?"

"Hi…" She paused, taking in the sight of his fumbling hands, cleaning up the mess in a haphazard recovery. "Why are you acting weird?" She observed.

Mako, standing behind her with his arm resting on the frame, pulled away from the pair. He followed a cartoonish exhale by excusing himself from the conversation. "I'm… going to find Korra."

Bolin took a second to consider his options. He could throw it back at her, ask why she's acting weird, but that's not right. Maybe he should just own it? Oh no, did he take longer than a second? She's just staring at him.

He took a deep breath. "Look, I'm sorry. I just get really self-conscious when I like someone, and I end up looking stupid."

Wait. What did he just say?

A look of surprise passed over Opal's face, but then she smiled. "I like you, too."

He swelled with pride. "Really?"

"Yeah, I—" Bolin cut her off by closing the distance between them and pressing his lips to hers.

It was a bold move, but he could tell it was the right one. As soon as their lips met, it was like the room came alive. Well, they were standing in the doorway of his bathroom, and it reeked of an exorbitant amount of hair product, but he could feel the air billow around him. It was electric.

Opal pulled off. "Oh!"

Confusion spread across Bolin's face. "Was that not okay?"

"I-I-I'm sorry, it's just that p-parents don't know, and I-I don't…" She stammered. "It was just such a great kiss, and I really like you, but I still haven't told my parents."

That certainly didn't clear anything up for Bolin. "Haven't told your parents what?"

Her brow furrowed. "That I'm an airbender."

"YOU'RE AN AIRBENDER?" He asked, shocked at this revelation.

"Well, yeah, didn't you feel that?" She asked.

Bolin felt something, that was for sure, but he wouldn't have ever made that leap if she hadn't just outed herself. "That's awesome!" He assured her, and her face turned from dour to hopeful. "Why haven't you told your parents?"

"I—" she started. "I don't know. I guess I'm just not ready."

For a moment, Bolin couldn't figure out how she couldn't be ready to tell her parents the news. She was an airbender! She could join the others, train at the Northern Air Temple, travel the world… the world just opened up to her! But then he realized that it may not be for everyone. "Oh," he told her. "Well, it's a good thing I can keep a secret!"

Her gaze met his, and he could see that she was barely holding back tears, thankful for his discretion.

* * *

When Tenzin trusted his sister to watch over any new airbenders that came to Air Temple Island, she thought she had made real progress in restoring their relationship. Little did she realize the task made her a glorified babysitter while her brothers went off and explored the world.

When she saw that Ikki was missing from her bed, Kya really did feel like a babysitter. As much as she loved her family, she hated playing mom. Now she had to go running down the halls, hunting for her little niece and hoping beyond hope she didn't run through one of those secret passageways the Air Acolytes had warned her of.

As she neared her brother's study, she heard a deep voice. "—the wisest airbender who ever lived."

She stopped at the entrance, where she found Ikki apparently talking to one of that traveler. The older man knelt down in front of her, showing her what looked like some sort of gold pendant in his hand. "Ikki," she said, rather irritably. She knew she shouldn't take it out on her niece, but she didn't like having to hunt for the girl in the middle of the night. She especially didn't like finding her alone with a man who, frankly, was a complete stranger. She extended her hand and tried to take on a lighter tone, "You should be in bed. Come on."

Ikki took one last look at the man before saying her goodbyes, and she walked back to her room.

Now that Ikki was going safely back to bed, Kya turned to Yuro. She fixed him with a tough stare, and this time she didn't hold back her aggravation. Remembering that line about the airbender, she stated her question. "You seem to know a lot about airbender history for someone who just happened to be passing through." Her tone dripped with frustration.

As he stood, Yuro returned her hard gaze, never breaking eye contact. "I've always admired their culture."

When she first met Yuro, she felt uneasy about him being around the others, but this confrontation was something else entirely. There was something off about him. She pressed him, "And you moved through those gates like a natural. Where did you say you were from?"

He narrowed his eyes into a sharp glare. "A small village up north. You've probably never heard of it."

A moment of silence passed through them as Kya considered the possibilities.

Yuro turned his back to Kya, placing the gold pendant on the table behind him. Still with his back turned, he said something she didn't expect. "You know, Kya, I knew your father."

"W-what?" She asked out of bewilderment. Who was this man?

"For years, you were off galivanting around the world, 'figuring yourself out,' and I was with him." He continued. "In a way, I knew him better than you ever did."

That struck Kya to her core. She didn't understand who this man was, but he knew how to hurt her. It was true; when she was younger, she spent years away from her family, having no contact with them of any kind, as she slept her way around the world. It wasn't until she heard of her father's death that she returned home, and she always regretted the years that she missed. A tear emerged from her eye, crawling its way down her cheek. "Who are you?" She whispered.

"My name is Zaheer."

Her eyes shot wide open as her few tears stained her cheeks. Yuro is Zaheer? The man who escaped the White Lotus prison? The man who endangered Korra? Suddenly, this man wasn't just a ghost from her past, but a threat. "What do you want?"

His answer was simple. "To finish Avatar Aang's mission."

* * *

Mibae's eyes shut tightly as her whole body flexed into her yawn. As she refocused on the dark hallway in front of her, she readjusted her glasses to fit onto her nose properly. Her curly brown hair draped over her shoulders in one big mop, and she couldn't be bothered to do anything about it until the morning. It was late. Very late. And after such a long day being dragged around the island, she was absolutely exhausted.

She stumbled her way through the dark corridor until she arrived to the women's dormitory. To her right, deeper into the shadows of the temple, laid the handful of other new female airbenders. Since she was the only one of them on Commander Meelo's mission, the other girls beat her to bed.

However, it wasn't their unconscious forms that caught her attention. At the end of the hallway stood the doorway to the Avatar's room. They weren't supposed to meet Avatar Korra until they got to the Northern Air Temple, and so it was surprising that the sliding door was open.

Mibae dragged her right hand against the wall as she made her way down the hallway. It's not that she was unsteady, but having that third point of contact somehow made her feel more secure. The inside of the temple was awfully gloomy this late at night, when the only light came from the moon and stars outside. The thought of what might be lurking in the shadows of that room made her skin crawl.

Once she made it to the door, she turned to her right to find Kavi sitting in the open window frame, letting the cool spring breeze whoosh in. His golden hair shone in the moonlight as he gazed into the open air. He had one arm planted firmly on the windowsill in order to keep himself steady, and the other draped over his knee.

"Oh." She murmured, not expecting the alone time with this specimen. "H-hi."

His head turned to her, and, after taking a second to recognize who she was, he fixed her with a killer smile. "You already said that."

She gulped. He was right; that was the only thing she could manage to say to him earlier. She stood there, arms at her side, looking utterly sheepish, and she couldn't move a muscle.

He tilted his head as if to challenge her as he asked, "Why don't you come sit?"

She didn't even say a word as her stiff limbs led her through the room. He shifted his position so that he sat firmly on the windowsill, legs dangling into the night sky. When she realized he expected her to do the same, she hesitated, but after a nod of encouragement she took her place next to him.

He leaned forward, his hands wrapped tightly around the outer frame of the window. She felt so small, gripping her elbows across her chest. Her strategy was to take up as little room as she could, but his wide sitting position linked his arm and his leg to hers.

He took a deep breath of the open air. "Relax, I promise not to push."

She… what? Did he think she was worried he would push her out the window? She wasn't before, but now she was!

Her face must have betrayed her bewilderment, because he let out a low chuckle.

"Sorry, I-I just… this is all new to me" she explained. Then she realized something. "What are you doing here?" It was a fair question. The reason she decided to investigate in the first place was because it seemed strange that someone would be in Korra's room. Was he some kind of pervert?

"Ah, I don't know. I don't like the temple," he started.

When he left the thought hanging, she decided to give him a little nudge. Prodding him with her elbow, she asked, "Why not?" After all, this place was practically a palace.

"Well… it reminds me of home," he answered. "Except that it's not, you know? Like something's missing. An important something." His gaze seemed to fall lazily into the night, like he wasn't actually seeing what was in front of him.

His answer caught her by surprise. How many Air Temple Islands are there in the world? No way this should remind anyone of home. Except for the people living here, obviously. Suddenly she felt less suspicious and more tender, like she wanted to protect him.

She had to find a way to comfort him. "What—" She cut herself off quickly when Kavi placed a finger on her lips, his now tense posture peering across Yue Bay. She didn't know what got into him, but suddenly she felt far less nurturing. What a dick! Unfortunately, Kavi didn't pick up on her reaction in the slightest. Meanwhile, his wide eyes stared motionlessly into the night.

 _KRAKKA_

Without saying a word, Kavi thrust his entire body backwards, flipping off the windowsill, and Mibae felt herself thrown off alongside him.

 _BOOOOOOM_

* * *

"I don't believe you," Kya stated firmly. Although Zaheer might have a remarkable amount of insight to offer on her family, she couldn't believe a word out of this man's mouth. Every indicator told her that she shouldn't trust him. After all, he was a known terrorist!

He bore a soft expression as he reached out his hand to her. "I understand that it may not make sense to you—"

 _BOOOOOOM_

The explosion rocked both Kya and Zaheer off their feet, and it opened Kya's world into chaos. There were no sirens, no flashing lights, and no screams, but there was one thing: a terrorist.

As Kya lumbered onto her feet, she tasted blood. Not a serious injury, but she must've bit hard on her lip when bracing herself.

She fixed her gaze on the man in front of her, who was still getting to his feet. He glowered in the direction of the explosion, through the still intact wood and stone that made up the temple, and he whispered at no one in particular, "What are you doing?"

Kya was finished asking questions. She looked to the fountain in the back of the room, pooling more than enough water off to her left, and she drew all that she needed. With a grunt, she willed the water into her enemy, and a wave gushed into Zaheer, knocking him straight into the wall.

He never even lost his footing.

In this fairly cramped room, it hardly took a second for him to cross the distance between them. After a blow directly in her gut, she hobbled back against the wall. Hurt, but ready. She focused another stream that jetted toward Zaheer with enough power to blast a hole in the wall, but that's all it did. He sidestepped it with relative ease, and she was open to his next blow. A kick swiped around and forced one of her legs to buckle, throwing her into a kneeling position, and he followed it up with a chop that landed sideways into her skull.

Her body fell to the ground in a clump. She could feel a dull ache where he hit her head, just above her right ear, but even worse was the sharp, stabbing pain in her left leg. It felt like a fracture just below her knee, and that terrified her. Could she fight like this? Could she even run?

Zaheer stood over her, powerful and confident. She harnessed all her strength in order to roll to the side, closer to the door, and she hardly picked herself up yet as she ran through it.

She shuffled down the hallway as quickly as she could, but then her injured leg gave out from under her. She braced herself against the wall, stealing a precious moment to take stock, and she heard footsteps coming from that room. Zaheer's footsteps.

There was no time to be embarrassed, or to worry about a panic. This was time to panic. "HELLLLLLP!" She screamed.

She could hear Zaheer closing the distance behind her, but she wasn't about to waste the extra second it would take to turn. She waited until the last moment, until she could feel the heat from his body, and she put all her strength into one last jet of water.

She delivered the blow without even a glance, and so it caught Zaheer totally unaware. It made contact, throwing him off his feet and back down the hallway.

Kya capitalized on it as best as she could, trudging toward the corner, toward the rest of the temple where someone might be able to help her, but Zaheer recovered to quickly. He planted a kick firmly into the small of her back, and she tumbled onto the floor.

Zaheer towered over her once again, and his voice was solemn. "I hoped you would understand."

He grabbed her barely conscious form by the collar, but her body was limp.

There was a commotion, and she could make out two of the new airbenders in the corner of her fading vision. She wanted to say something, to warn them, but she could only moan.

The male, the one the introduced earlier that day, stepped forward. He raised his hand, and Kya crashed to the ground once more. Zaheer must've found his next target. _'Go!'_ she wanted to scream. _'While you still can!'_

But that wasn't it. Once Kya rolled onto her stomach, she could focus enough to find Zaheer floating in the air, straining to no avail against whatever was holding him.

Zaheer's eyes bulged. In fear? Anger? Whatever it was, he stayed silent.

Kya was having trouble piecing all of this together. In her state, she was lucky she could see it all, let alone interpret it. Luckily, the female airbender laid it out. "You're a bloodbender!" She gasped.

Kavi winced, but it caused no hesitation. He swiped his arm, and Zaheer flew into the back wall with a loud thud. "AUGH!" He grunted.

He pulled Zaheer back toward them, and then he threw him at the back wall again. And again. But that was the last time, because that time he kept him there, pinned to the wall with enough force that the barely conscious Zaheer could only gurgle.

And then his face collapsed.


	3. Duty

Rubble littered the grounds outside the temple on Air Temple Island. There was no fire, no smoke, but there was devastation. Fragments of stone peppered every surface, emanating from the epicenter: the giant hole blown into the sleeping quarters.

Here, they were supposed to be safe. Here, they were supposed to be protected. But were they?

White Lotus guards were almost as numerous as the bits of rock, patrolling the entire island, but there was no sign of who caused the explosion. That, at the very least, was one thing that Mibae couldn't blame this stranger for.

The White Lotus gathered en masse in order to preserve some sense of safety, but that kind of goes out the window when half your house explodes. Well, that was an exaggeration. Really, the explosion didn't hurt anyone. Everyone was accounted for… except for one person. And that was why bags still hung under Mibae's eyes; how could she go back to sleep after watching a man's body cave in?

After Kavi saved Kya—no, after he brutally murdered Zaheer, nobody really knew what to do.

Hugging her knees close to her chest, Mibae ran her hands through her now thoroughly unkempt hair. A thin crack webbed its way across the left lense of her glasses, but through it she could still see Kavi, standing firmly between two White Lotus guards just a short way down the path, closer to the edge of the island.

His wrists flexed against the confines of a pair of handcuffs, and Mibae wondered what they actually accomplished. Given what she saw the night before, it probably wasn't much.

Immediately after Zaheer died, others arrived on the scene. Meelo and Ikki never heard the crack of Zaheer's bones as they broke apart, thank Spirits, but they saw the spray of blood that spattered against the walls. It was they who notified the White Lotus, and Kavi just stood there as they cuffed him.

It made her wonder. She slumped over, into Kya's shoulder. Kya recoiled subtly, just enough to tell Mibae that she needed to pull back. Duh, of course she was still sore. The waterbender spent the better part of the night struggling to heal herself after her run in with Zaheer.

Mibae leaned back, shifting most of her body weight onto her palm, and she offered Kya a regretful look. Kya, in turn, lifted her gaze from the ground so as to meet Mibae's. The older waterbender was haggard, and who could blame her? It was a miracle she was even alive, let alone THIS recovered.

Kya was the first to break the hours-long silence. "Did he say anything?" She asked. "Do anything? That…" She trailed off.

What? Did he give her some indication that he was actually a murderous psychopath? Yeah, that's why she plopped down next to him on that windowsill.

That wasn't fair, and she knew it. The fact is she knew he seemed strange, but she overlooked it at the time. After all, he was _fine_. Even now, with soot sweeping his hair into a solid mass, she wanted to like him. Maybe it was the fact that he was still wearing just a muscle shirt and underwear, but she couldn't help herself, okay?

She thought back to Kya's question. "Actually," the thought occurred to her. "I remember that just before the explosion… before I guess he dragged me away from the window, I don't know… he saw something."

Kya raised an eyebrow, and she asked with more than a drop of skepticism, "Like what?"

"Like he knew it was coming."

The words hung there for a moment, and Kya's face twisted in confusion.

Maybe she was just talking out of her ass. Mibae didn't really know what she saw, and it could have been anything.

Kya looked away from Mibae. She threw her body forward, rolling forward until she propped herself back up on her feet. She fixed Mibae with one last look, one that said 'I don't know, but fuck it,' and she strolled over to where the White Lotus stood with Kavi.

Mibae looked away, uncomfortable with the whole situation. This guy was so confusing. When she looked at him, she felt a well of empathy... but also like she was suffocating.

But she couldn't help her curiosity, and so she watched.

One of the guards, dressed in the same blue and white robes as every member of the White Lotus, tipped his helmet to the waterbender. "Morning, ma'am. We're just about to head out of here."

"Good, the further he is from here, the better." What was she playing at?

"Actually, ma'am, we're just holding him downtown for the time being, until we can sort something out," the other guard corrected her.

Apparently, he wasn't supposed to share this sort of information, because the other guard punched his arm. "This is why we don't tell you things!" Then, to Kya, "Sorry, ma'am, but we really have to get going."

They began to turn, guiding their prisoner toward the steps that led down to the bay, but Kavi's head remained turned toward Kya's, with an ever so slight smirk painting his otherwise emotionless façade. "You're welcome," he told her.

* * *

With a brush of his finger, Wei meticulously moved the unruly strand of hair into place above his right eyebrow, and then he stood back and admired his handiwork in the mirror. His mossy green eyes gazed back at him as his cheeks contorted into a wide grin. Perfect.

"Are you done checking yourself out yet?" His brother rudely interrupted as he threw the door open. "You can either come and get slapped in the arena, or stay here and get a little too familiar with your body."

Wei put on a strong face before turning away from the mirror and facing his other reflection. "You're going down, SON!" After yesterday's victory, when he had an audience witness Wing getting his ass kicked, he had all the confidence he would need.

He quickly pushed past his brother, landing a hand on his chest that flung him backwards. As Wing struggled to catch his balance, Wei flew out the door in a flurry, racing off to grab a quick breakfast before wiping the floor with his twin.

The pair stomped into the main dining room and passed straight by all their guests.

"All set for your Power Disc game today, guys?" Su asked, breaking Wei's focus.

He grabbed a piece of fruit from the basket at the corner of the table, but Wing immediately bumped him out of the way to grab some fruit of his own. With a defiant look on his face, Wing replied, "Yeah, all set to kick Wei's ass!"

Wei glanced to the side and saw his twin about to take his first bite, but with a quick jab of his elbow he knocked it straight out of his hands. He grabbed the apple out of the air and took a big bite, with the smuggest face he could muster.

"I'm going to power disc your face!" Wing yelled, obviously pissed that his brother dared to steal his fruit. He threw a punch right into Wei's gut, and he nearly keeled over right there. Thrown into a crouch by his brother's blow, he could hear Wing address Korra. "You should come play with us!"

"Oh, I don't think I'd be much competition, since I can't metalbend," Korra declined.

"Really?" Su asked with a grimace. "Lin never offered to train you?"

"Nope!" Korra answered. "And I guess I never thought to bring it up because I was learning to airbend, then there was the pro-bending then I got caught up fighting the Equalists before running down to the Glacier Spirits Festival where my uncle manipulated my tribe into a crazy civil war—" Wei lost interest about halfway through the rambling, but he stuck on how she never learned metalbending. How long ago did his mom have him playing with his first meteorite? Probably before his first rock. Heh.

"Well, it's probably for the best. I'm sure Lin would be a horrible teacher," Su said with such a smug chuckle that Wei wished he threw one of his own at his brother earlier. "As the avatar, you should have mastery over all the elements. I'd be happy to show you the basics!"

"Really? That would be great!" Korra beamed with excitement.

"You should try it too!" Opal suggested to the avatar's friend. What was his name, again? Wei knew he knew it, but he couldn't be bothered.

The earthbender almost choked on his breakfast before he looked over at Opal. "Uh, no, I'm more of an earth guy," he said in a singsong voice. "You know, dirt, rocks, maybe some light gravel. That's kinda where my heart is."

"Okay, Earth Guy!" Wei's mother interjected, clearly not buying the charade. "Well, let me know if you change your mind."

Wei opened his mouth to chime in and offer to help his mom get them started. Not that he really wanted to help out of the goodness of his heart, but it would be pretty sweet to be able to say he beat the avatar in a sparring match. Before he could find his voice, however, his eyes darted to the enormous mass of machinery wheeling itself through the door.

His mouth hung agape as he tried to decipher the scene in front of him. A quick glance around the room told him that everyone was wondering the same thing: 'the fuck?'

"HOLY LEOPARDCOW!" Varrick exclaimed as an oversized helmet darted out from behind the monstrosity. He yanked the metal off his head clumsily, ruffling his hair as he did. When he looked up to fix his audience with a wide grin, his tousled hair made him look like a wild maniac. "Zhu Li, mark it down! The camera works!"

Zhu Li, the mousy woman who doted on the lunatic hand and foot, scampered into the room behind him. As she scribbled onto her pad, the inventor went on. "On to Phase 2: Zhu Li cleans me up!" Varrick's eyes darted toward Su, leading Wei to catch a glimpse of her famous tight-lipped pout, and Varrick made a hasty attempt to reassure her. "Ahh don't worry about it, Suyin! We'll figure it out."

* * *

Across the street, beads of sweat dripped down a man's face from the exertion of lifting yet another crate into his truck. P'li could see his lips move as he muttered to himself, and the way his arm rubbed his back told her the man had aged out of manual labor.

Of course, P'li was carefully concealed in a long, brown robe, the hood of which drooped just above her sightline. They couldn't have anyone seeing what she really was. After the events of last night, she and her friends were going to have quite a lot of trouble fleeing the city. Which brought her back to the man across the street.

As the last crate, marked with a silly, smiling cabbage, made its way into the man's truck, the trio leapt from their seats. The man stood away from the truck, admiring his handiwork for a moment before heading off, but they were about to ruin his plans. With a swish, a tendril of water wrapped itself around his upper body, and it spun him around into the side of the truck. The man's face practically bounced off the cool metal.

The man focused his eyes in time to watch P'li strut toward him. As she did, the cloak fell away, revealing the monster beneath. The man reacted the same way everyone did: he recoiled, flinching as much as he could in the tight confines that Ming-Hua had him in.

Once P'li got close, she raised her hand and slapped him, slashing him with her sharp nails with enough force to break the water keeping him in place. As Ming-Hua tightened her grip, P'li fixed him with an icy stare. "You're going to help us."

His breathing picked up, adrenaline spiking in his panic. He wasn't getting it. "There's no money. I'm just picking up the last of my stock!"

Ming-Hua raised a shard of ice to the man's throat. With the icy claw grasping at his windpipe, the waterbender's hoarse voice clarified. "We don't want money.

* * *

As impressive as Zaofu was, it felt eerily similar to a prison when the eight-pronged pyramid of the city's walls raised each night. They made the city impenetrable, but they counteracted all the beauty when they enveloped it in a cold darkness.

For Asami, though, that feeling of claustrophobia never subsided. The wide open sky surrounded the city, while its domes laid retracted around the stunning expanse of innovation, but it was a lie. It wasn't actually open. Whether enclosed in a metal cage or by the invisible city bounds, she couldn't leave. She loved being a member of Team Avatar, and she wouldn't trade it for the world, but she couldn't help but wonder what she was doing here. Korra was busy learning how to metalbend, Mako was always running interference between Lin and, well, everyone, and Bolin was being Bolin. That left Asami sitting in her room with nothing to do but stress about the company she couldn't help from all these miles away, and she couldn't take it.

So she didn't. She placed her hand on the imposing door standing before her.

Earlier, as she laid on the bed in her room, her mind was racing, desperate to get her hands on something she could really work on. Then she remembered seeing Su's husband, Baatar, walk past the dining room on the first night with a big promise in his voice.

She pulled the door open ever slightly before poking her head through the gap, but in another second she let go of the door and let it hang open. With a frown on her face, she stepped the rest of the way through the door. No Baatar, and no project.

Behind the large set of double doors sat Baatar's office, but Asami was disappointed to find the room almost entirely empty. The far side of the room held a bronze desk bearing a trapezoidal golden shield, but, aside from that, the room was completely empty. Unlike Su's own office, this room contained no couches, tables, or even a chair to go along with the desk.

Asami walked over to the nearest curtain and drew it back, allowing sunlight to flood the room. The marble floor shined a miraculous teal green, lined with a golden ring that matched the desk. She developed a taste for this sort of handiwork while living in luxury with her father, but, ever since she found out the truth about him, it always came with a bitter aftertaste.

Then she noticed a chip in the otherwise smooth surface near the left hand side of the desk. She crossed the room until she reached the mark, and she knelt down. This room was entirely free of even the smallest blemish… except for this one.

She gazed back toward the window, and from this angle she could see she was wrong; the room was littered with these marks! Then she heard a gruff voice from the direction of the door. "What do you think you're doing?"

Asami jumped up in a flurry. "Sorry, I was just looking for Baatar," she turned to the door to face her accuser. "Am I not allowed in here?"

"This room is off limits while our best minds do their work." The woman stated. She wore the stark gray armor and green robes of Zaofu's military. Between the oversized shoulder guards and the stunted cone serving as a helmet, Asami thought she looked pretty silly, especially in front of the backdrop of a city as progressive as Zaofu. "Even guards don't enter."

"Sorry, I didn't see a sign?" She asked rhetorically.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave." The look of stone cold determination on the woman's face told Asami she may have made a mistake in messing around. Better leave the fun and games to Bolin.

Not wanting to press her luck, Asami decided she better try another angle. "I'm sorry," she said, truly apologetically. She looked to the guard standing in front of her, worried she may have burnt a bridge.

Apparently sensing the genuine regret in Asami's voice, the guard's icy stare broke. "It's okay." She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry for getting tough with you, but they've been working really hard in here."

Asami brushed right past the guard as she walked through the doorway, and the woman followed. "I didn't mean to snoop around, but I'm going crazy cooped up in this place with nothing to do. I'm a bit of a mechanic, so I wanted to see if there's anything I could help with."

"You're one of the avatar's friends, right? I would think you guys know how to entertain yourselves." The pair came to a stop outside the building, overlooking the central square with a great view of the city skyline in the distance.

"Maybe, but I've had nothing but downtime as long as we've been here," Asami explained. "I have nothing to do but sit in my room and worry about my company all the way over in Republic City, and I can't do a thing from here."

The metalbender suddenly took on a greater interest. "You own a company in Republic City? What's it like there?"

"Yeah, Future Industries," Asami answered, a bit surprised at the response. "You've never been?"

"I've been inside this city for as long as I can remember," the woman replied with a distant look in her eyes. She seemed to drift off for a moment before snapping back to reality. "Tell you what. I'm off duty in a couple hours. If you meet me at the dance studio, we can do something about that anxiety."

Asami's face twisted into a wide grin. "You got it!"

* * *

Lin's pacing threatened to tread a rut into the stone pathway that wound through the compound surrounding her sister's home. The police chief was going absolutely stir crazy inside this giant, metal prison, unable to take charge outside of her jurisdiction. What if those terrorists found out the avatar was here? What if the Earth Queen decided to declare eminent domain and claim Zaofu? What if her sister hadn't changed? Here, Lin could do nothing but wait for one of those scenarios to play out, and it was driving her nuts.

A pair of guards brushed past her on their way toward the perimeter of the private dome, and Lin picked up on their conversation. "How many push-ups did you do last night? 'Cause I did, like, fifty."

That was fucking it. "What do you think you're doing?! She barked. "Get back to work!" A pang wormed its way through her temples, and she grunted in pain. The stress was getting to her.

"Is everything okay here?"

Lin centered herself. She had to remain vigilant, not give in to the stress. She fixed her eyes on the new voice. Aiwei. Her sister's right hand man, sent to check up on her. "What are you doing here?!" Once her attention shifted to the older man, the two guards ran off. "Su sent you, didn't she?!"

The man looked utterly perplexed. From behind his half-moon glasses, his eyes remained fixated on her, probably analyzing her, deciphering whether she was lying. Well, she hadn't even made a statement, yet, but he was undoubtedly sent here to study her.

"Lin, you need to relax," he took on a soothing tone.

"I'm fine!" She screamed.

"It doesn't take a truth seer to know that you are under a dangerous amount of stress. Why don't you and I talk—"

A wall of earth erected itself between them, stopping the man mid-sentence. The moment he suggested they talk was the moment Lin knew he was only trying to get in her head. That's all a truth seer needs—to talk.

The man could have simply walked around the barrier between them, but he took the hint. He began to walk back into the compound, no doubt to report back to Su, and suddenly Lin couldn't stand the scenery anymore.

She walked.

Eventually, she came face to face with a door. The door to Aiwei's apartment.

* * *

It was a long, uneven road out of the city. The only light pervading the back of the truck had to dart its way from the windshield around all the crates, and so P'li and her friends hung in the shadows. Ming-Hua sat directly across from her. Solid black locks of hair drooped around her withered frame, but what worried P'li was how sunken in her face looked.

For thirteen years, P'li's prison was open enough to let the cold in, and closed enough to keep it there. Trapped in a desert of ice, on the brink of hypothermia. Thirteen years straddling the thin line between life and death.

But can that even compare? Ming-Hua was kept inside an active volcano. She was surrounded by fire and sulfur all that time, invading her lungs, draining her of all life. Part of her wondered if the White Lotus hoped it would erupt. But that would have been too thoughtful.

Thoughts like that were all that could fuel her after all this time. Knowing, beyond any possible doubt, that they were right. That what they were doing was necessary. That they were going to save the world. Only they could restore balance.

The anger must have shown on her face, because Ming-Hua knocked P'li out of her trance. "P'li…" She began. "He was a good man. He would want us to keep going."

What? Was she lecturing her on Zaheer? She knew he was a good man. _She_ knew what he would want. She didn't need Ming-Hua crippling her. "I know," she replied gruffly. "Don't think for a second I've lost focus."

"So what if you did?" Ghazan this time. "We suffered a heavy loss. You most of all."

That infuriated her. With a huff, she hissed, " _We've_ suffered a heavy loss? Here I thought that was Zaheer. He's the one who's dead, after all."

"Calm down," Ming-Hua warned her. "You're right. We're just… worried about you."

Worried how? They didn't know the first thing about what she was going through. She suffered through thirteen years of torture to see that man again, and now he was ripped away from her, again, permanently. And by _them_.

Her eyes darted into the darkness, losing eye contact with the waterbender.

* * *

As Ghenzo's truck neared the checkpoint, he wondered what kind of trouble he had gotten into. He had never seen this kind of security before, even when the city served as the battleground for a whole revolution! Could this all be due to the extra cargo he had in the back of his truck?

He slid his window open in order to talk to the approaching officer. "Good afternoon. Where are you off to, today?" The man started.

 _He knows! How can he already know? Oh shit, oh shit, I need to get out of here!_ Ghenzo thought to himself before stammering, "I-I, uh, g-got a delivery to make… in Baiu." He grabbed the paperwork from his last delivery of the day, the one he would never get to make, and he handed it to the man. "I should be back later today."

He used his elbow to push back at the shard of ice pressing into his side, visibly wincing from the pain it caused.

"Are you alright?" The officer asked with a quizzical look, having apparently picked up on Ghenzo's distress.

"Yeah!" Was that too much? Gah, he had to try something else. Ghenzo brushed the sweat from his brow. "Just a little tired." He wished exhaustion were the cause of his sweat. "One more pickup, then I'm clocking out!"

He realized his mistake as soon as the officer's face snapped up from the paperwork to meet his eye. "I thought you said you had a delivery?"

Ghenzo raised one eyebrow at the man and feigned confusion. "Did I?"

"I'm going to need you to step out of the vehicle and open the back of the truck," the man demanded, stepping back front the driver's window.

Ghenzo took a big gulp before opening his door and jumping out of the truck. He slowly lumbered down toward the back. When he couldn't think of any better way to get out of the situation, he quickly got out of it. He picked up from his slow pace and sprinted to the side, down the bridge and away from his truck as hastily as possible. He was vaguely aware of one of the officers yelling at him, but it didn't slow him down. Once he reached the end of the bridge, he dove behind the little building where the toll booth operator normally sits.

Then he heard the earth rumble through what little road there was on the bridge, shouts through the crowd of men ahead of him, and the same dry voice that started it all shouting, "Let's get out of here!"

He heard a strange sizzle, followed by a loud crack, and the sound of a siren disappeared as an explosion shook the bridge under his feet. Another crack, another explosion. Ghenzo peaked out from the side of the booth just as he heard another crack, but all that filled his vision was a translucent streak of energy, rapidly closing in on the measly toll booth.

* * *

The unyielding black waves filled his vision, refusing to be tamed. It was the smooth surface of one of Suyin's meteorites. Bolin couldn't figure it out for the life of him, but it was the same one that Korra was able to bend earlier that day. No matter what he did, no matter how hard he tried, it wouldn't budge. No dent, no wobble, nothing. It was like it was reading his mind, saying 'AYY Bolin! Screw you!'

Finally, he grabbed it off the pedestal, and proceeded to squeeze it between his palms. Sweat started to drip from his temples with all the effort he exerted, but, still, nothing. Any rock would have crumbled into dust, but the meteorite might as well have been, well, metal.

"Bolin?"

He practically leapt out of his skin, throwing himself over the pedestal in a bid for cover. Someone found him! Hastily, his arms reached up and blindly placed the meteorite back into place atop the pedestal. It fell back to the ground with a crash.

Then he realized whose voice that was.

He jumped out of his excellent hiding spot, spinning around to face the intruder. "Opal!"

Her strikingly green eyes distorted as she lifted an eyebrow in confusion. "What are you doing?"

The singsong voice echoed through Bolin's ears. How to explain? "I, uh, nothing, you know, just… thinking about my body," WHAT? "And all the mustaches I might have in the future."

Her lips pursed and eyebrows furrowed. "You're acting weird again."

How could he lie to such a beautiful creature? The sunlight sparkled off the metal ornaments she donned, framing her elegant form so perfectly. He gazed deep into her eyes, and he was defeated. "Sorry, I wasn't really thinking about all my mustaches. I'm just frustrated. I've been trying to metalbend for years, and I can't figure it out. Don't tell anyone, okay?"

After bearing his soul, telling her his deepest, darkest secret, she just looked back at him. Baffled, and then amused. "Why not?" She giggled.

SHE GIGGLED? Oh no, oh no, she was judging him! She knew he wasn't a real earthbender like her family!

Then her expression changed, as if suddenly realizing what this meant to him. She laid her hand on Bolin's shoulder, grasping it in reassurance. "My family literally _invented_ metalbending. When nobody thought it was possible. Stop being so scared, and ask them for a little help." Her hand dropped back to her side.

She made a good point. It was embarrassing, that he couldn't metalbend. Like a smudge on his reputation as an earthbender. But if anyone could help him figure it out, it was probably a Beifong. But could he really do it? Could he really tell them the truth? Then he realized something. "You know what? Maybe I AM scared. But what about you? You're an airbender! And you won't even tell your family. Imagine the life you could have… if you weren't so afraid of leaving this one."

Opal's gaze seemed to set in a far off place. "You know what? You're right. I'm afraid that if my parents find out I'm an airbender, it'll disappoint them. Like I'm part of some other family, not theirs."

Those words hung in the air for a moment. Bolin felt so raw, so vulnerable, and Opal must have felt the same. Not knowing what he could possibly say to her at this point, he settled for the one thing he knew he wanted in that moment. He leaned in and grasped her in a big hug.

* * *

Asami made her way into the building where they first met Su. As she passed through the archway, she found herself on one large, open floor, with enormous stained glass windows on either side to let in the natural light. The room, to Asami's surprise, was completely empty of everything but the big, metal egg that she once watched the dancer's mold into beautiful designs.

Just as she started to worry that her new friend wouldn't show, she heard the sound of a bag hit the floor behind her. She turned around to find the guard, but this time she wasn't a guard. She had changed into a tight, gray, sleeveless shirt and loose, green pants that draped around her like a cloak. For the first time, she noticed a small beauty mark under her new friend's right eye. Her arms and legs were wrapped in white tape, and her long, dark hair hung down in a braid. It suddenly dawned on Asami that this was one of the same women training with Su that first day, and that she just hadn't recognized her in her guard uniform.

"So what did you have in mind?" Asami asked cheerfully, eager to let off a little steam.

"Well I'm not sure if this is really your speed, but I always like to come here after a long day staring at a whole lot of nothing." The guard explained.

"I'm not much of a dancer, but I'll give it a shot!" She replied with a sly smile.

The woman walked over to where Asami stood further inside the studio, and she offered her hand. Asami caught it in a firm grasp, and in an instant she felt herself being pulled upwards. Her friend had raised her other arm in a flash, latching a cable onto one of the clasps on the ceiling in the center of the room, and she easily heaved the two of them into the air. They twisted mid ascent, and circled a lap around the room before the metalbender let go of Asami's hand.

The sudden drop brought her to a panic, but when she landed on the metal egg underneath her she was surprised to find she didn't hear a clank. In fact, she barely even felt the impact. Her body sank into the metal monolith as the talented gymnast, still circling around the room from the ceiling, used her bending to relax the metal so that it 'caught' her victim gracefully.

The talented gymnast altered her momentum and swung through the center of the room, grabbing Asami by the waist and dragging her along for the ride. This time, at the peak of their ascent, she performed a flip, and on the way down she retracted the cable holding the pair up. They each landed on opposite side of the egg, now outstretched in the shape of a lotus flower. They slid down each blade until they reached the base together, crashing into one another.

The two women gave hearty laughs. Asami could see why she would come here every chance she could.

* * *

Asami laid her back on the cool floor, her limbs sprawled out around her as she began to catch her breath. Her mouth curved into a big, toothy grin, thrilled to have spent the afternoon in the dance studio. She couldn't think of a better source of stress relief.

The slender metalbender lowered herself onto the ground next to Asami, arms stretched out on each side, and loose strands of her long, black hair draping down onto her shoulders and the floor beneath her. She tilted her head to meet the gaze of her companion, and a smile quickly spread across her lips.

Each woman laughed as they laid on the floor in a heap, exhausted from an evening full of exercise. "Thanks," Asami stated, grateful for her friend's company. "I really needed this."

The woman opposite her gave another chuckle. "It's as therapeutic as it gets here!" Then she took on a more even tone. "But I should be thanking you, I forgot how great it could be to share this with someone."

The pair continued to lay there silently, savoring the moment.

"Is this how you spend every day?" Asami wondered as she stared blankly up at the ceiling. Such a simple activity transformed Zaofu from a prison to a paradise.

"I wish. Actually, I spend most of my time in uniform."

"Didn't Su say there isn't any crime?" She remembered. "Why do you have to work so much?"

"Just because there's no crime doesn't mean there's nothing to protect. Anyone in the guard would lay down their lives for the city, and that's a quality we'd like to keep."

"I see what you're saying." Asami admitted. "It seems like Zaofu is a utopia in the middle of all the chaos we've seen around the world."

"Zaofu is the greatest city in the world." The dancer's reply came as if it were instinctual.

Asami paused for a moment before propping herself up on her elbow, facing her companion with a thoughtful gaze. "But don't you think it should share that success?"

That perked the metalbender out of her stupor. "It's not as if we're in isolation." She replied incredulously.

"I don't know," Asami eased into it, unsure of whether it might offend someone so obviously proud of her city. "Earlier you said you've never been outside the city… Well, we just left Ba Sing Se before coming here, and that city was in ruins. Zaofu's in its own little bubble."

The look on her face told Asami that the woman had never considered this. "Zaofu thrives on the principles on which Suyin founded the city. She draws the best out of everyone!" She pondered. "I would assume the monarchy strives for the same."

"The Queen seemed more concerned with topiaries than her kingdom," Asami shrugged off the thought.

The two women laid in silence once again, but this time they were entrenched in their thoughts.

"And I said I've been in the city as long as I can remember, not my entire life."

* * *

Opal took a deep breath. The door in front of her was just that, a door, but to her it was a monolith. Could she face what was on the other side? Was it even worth it? Maybe it wasn't, maybe she should just forget this whole thing.

She turned around in defeat, but then she saw Bolin peering around the corner. They talked about this. She could do this. With a look of approval from Bolin, she turned back to the door, and she pushed through.

"Mom, Dad, can I talk to you?" She asked as she walked through the doorway.

Inside, she found her parents on opposite sides of the long, bronze table in the center of the room, each seated on matching green couches. She thought they would be having tea, but, instead, she found them each scouring through a bunch of papers. She never showed much interest in her father's projects before, and so she quickly moved on to the reason for the interruption. "I have something to tell you." She closed the door behind her.

* * *

" _How's everything in the city?"_ Tenzin's voice crackled over the radio.

That was a loaded question. How was she supposed to broach the subject? _Oh yeah, everything's great. Some murder, lots of blood, a pinch of explosions, but don't worry, your children aren't scarred at all!_

"It's, um…" Kya paused. She took a deep breath, and she decided to go all in. "Zaheer infiltrated the air temple." She winced, awaiting his response.

 _"What?!"_ Tenzin shouted. Silence hung in the air as the airbending master processed the news. _"Is everyone okay?"_

Leave it to Tenzin to be so responsible about the whole mess. The problem was, well, what now? How much should she tell him? "All of the airbenders are fine," she started. "But Tenzin? Zaheer's dead."

Silence permeated their conversation once more. For more than a few moments, the only sound was the hiss of the radio. _"What happened?"_

"I fought with him, and, honestly? He was probably going to kill me. But then one of the airbenders saved me." She explained. "But get this: he wasn't an airbender. He was a bloodbender!"

" _I-I don't know what to say. Thank goodness you're alright."_

She rubbed her arm. She really wasn't good at this mushy family stuff, caring about each other. She cared, obviously, people were so _attached_. "The White Lotus have him in custody now, but we're still reeling." She trailed off for a moment. "Do you think he's one of them?" She wondered aloud.

It seemed like Tenzin took a moment to consider the idea. Kya could practically see him twirl his pointed beard even through the radio. _"No. Why would he save you? Why would he stop Zaheer?"_

"You're right," she figured. "I don't know."

There was so much they didn't know.


	4. Lost Ones

Platinum covered every square inch of the cell. The cold metal wrapped around the entire room, on every surface, and the uniformity didn't break even for a mattress or sheet; there was just nothing else. Nothing to bend.

Clearly, this room was designed to imprison metalbenders, but the cold metal surface was their best bet at holding the man before her. Kya wondered how effective this room could really be against a bloodbender, but it was temporary. It was the only option in the city, and the city was the only option until they could build something more permanent.

"Are they feeding you?" She asked. It was a legitimate question. Given what he could do, it was possible they might be too afraid to go near him. Still, here she was, sitting across from him, not dead.

He stared back at her with a blank expression. Really, he looked like a mess. Days passed since he was last at the temple, and it showed. Soot still clung to his hair from the explosion, discoloring his golden halo into an ashy gray. Grime coated his face in a shiny layer of sweat, staining the same t-shirt he wore that night. She supposed the guards couldn't exactly let him near enough water to bathe, nor could they chance getting too close to him.

Yet here she was.

She leaned back in her chair, and the sound of the metal leg dragging against the metal floor in the metal room delivered a brief screech. Her hand rested on the table dividing them, fingernails tapping away as she considered what to do.

Kavi lugged his hands, encased fully in two, welded together platinum cylinders, onto the table as he awaited her next question.

But it wasn't a question. "Raiko wants to ship you out this time tomorrow," she told him. "Leave you to the White Lotus."

He tilted his head, clearly unperturbed by the news.

"You know, there's a reason why none of my family is actually in the White Lotus," she explained. He needed to understand the gravity of his situation. "After all, they came out of hiding to serve my father." Pause, but no reaction. "But when my mom saw how they kept Zaheer and his gang, that was it."

Nothing. He wasn't getting it. "I wouldn't wish it on anyone."

"Look," he spoke for the first time since they brought him here. "What do you expect to happen here?"

"Are you a part of their group or not?" The words blurted out of her mouth. She caught herself at the last syllable, but it was too late. No more playing coy; she was all in.

He raised an eyebrow as he leaned back, gawking at her theory. "Why would I have stopped him?"

It was a fair point. One that Tenzin made, too. But it wasn't an answer. "Mibae thinks you knew it was coming. She thinks you recognized someone out there, and that you acted before the explosion." Perhaps it was dangerous to loop back to one of the new airbenders, but it was evidence. She jabbed a finger at him. "How'd you pull that off if you're not a part of it?"

His lips pursed as he paused for a moment, his gaze far away. He spoke slowly. "They're… bad people."

She raised an eyebrow. She didn't know if that answered her question or raised ten new ones. "Coming from the guy who crushed one of them into a pulp."

"Well…" he started. "I'm not exactly a hero, either." 

* * *

"His pupils pleaded with their master to eat something, but he refused," Tenzin continued his story. "Just like he had each day during summer."

He paused for a moment, eager to take in the excited faces of his own pupils, but when he looked up from the book he was surprised to find a rather disinterested crowd. The After fleeing Ba Sing Se, he led the airbenders to the Northern Air Temple, where they were eager to start their training. It was heartwarming at first, knowing that so many new airbenders had entered the world and wanted to learn about his culture… until he realized how few of them cared about the actual culture. To most of them, airbending was a new toy to play around with.

Which is why his mood took a nosedive as his eyes gazed across the crowd. Still, he would finish the story of Tang Xu's historic fast.

"Instead, he meditated, and got his nourishment from the universe…" He trailed off. His gaze finally fell on Jinora, hugging her knees into her chest behind the group of new airbenders. She was always his best student, but something changed.

He thought back to that night.

They were safe. They escaped the Earth Queen. They rescued the airbenders. They were flying far away from that woman's reach. Then, his poor daughter watched her friend get yanked off the sky bison and back into the Dai Li's custody.

They couldn't turn back. He knew it, and she knew it. But that couldn't have made it easier.

The loud groan of an approaching sky bison broke Tenzin out of his funk. "DAD!" He heard Meelo shout from way up in the sky.

The shaggy white fur of the two sky bison rained down upon Tenzin's class, who moaned in disgust. It was just that time of year!

Tenzin brushed the clumps of fur off his robes as he stood, watching the bison land with a trembling thud.

He addressed his class. "Okay, everyone is dismissed!" The cheers deflated his mood once again.

Tenzin turned away from the new arrivals in order to watch his class disperse. Most of the airbenders leapt up and started jabbering about one thing or another while walking back into the temple, but Jinora was another story. She got to her feet groggily, barely stepping out of the shadow of the precipice she once huddled under before the rest of the airbenders neared the gates of the temple. Once she finally had, she didn't join the others. Instead, she sauntered further away from the temple, not even acknowledging her siblings.

As the airbenders passed Tenzin on their way into the temple, Tenzin grabbed Brok's attention. He was the airbender who befriended Kai, and the same one who fought alongside them on their way out of the temple. "Brok, a word?" Jinora might not want to talk to her father, but she might hear it from him.

The airbender approached the master. He must've read the somber expression on Tenzin's face, because he seemed to understand the moment he looked back to find Jinora had disappeared. "I'll talk to her," he offered.

Tenzin responded with only a smile, throwing an appreciative look at the man.

He then turned back around to greet his family. 

* * *

A lush green rolled through the hills surrounding the Northern Air Temple. Although the mountain stretched well below the temple, forcing rock to cut its way through the green landscape, Brok found himself even further, where the green hills almost entirely overcame the rocky cliffsides.

What made it beautiful wasn't the contrast of colors between mountains, hills, and lake, but the spirits roaming throughout the area. Brok never had the opportunity to be very spiritual himself, but he imagined the Air Nomads must have had the right idea, settling here. If the congregating spirits told him anything, it was that this was the place to be.

Which is why he was surprised to find Jinora examining an eel spirit from the edge of the lake. She didn't look sad, angry, or even confused. She just looked… interested.

"Hi," he introduced himself, not wanting to spook her.

She turned to face him, and the slight smile on her face disappeared. In its place sat a desolate expression. "Oh."

Oh? "'Oh'? That's all I get? I'm offended," he joked.

She lowered herself onto the grass in a slump. She sat cross legged, facing the water, and she began to pick at the grass absentmindedly. "I'm sorry," her tone was perfectly even. "It's just… you remind me of him."

That was fair. Maybe he shouldn't have made a joke. After all, how well did they know each other? _Oh, hey, it's me, the guy who was locked up with your boyfriend. He was pretty cool, but I left him behind. That cool?_ This girl had a right to dislike him.

He knelt down beside her. "Hey, look at me." He tapped her chin, goading her to face him. "We'll get him back."

Her gaze finally met his, and her hazel eyes seemed to bore into his soul.

Her face was _almost_ expressionless. She wore a thin-lipped pout, giving nothing away, but it was those eyes… she was sad. And he was making them that way.

He winced. "Don't look at me like that," he told her. "I already look at myself that way, I don't need you to start."

That almost seemed to unmask her. He could see her do the mental gymnastics trying to figure him out, but her eyes still had that look, even if they were also attentive.

He lowered himself the rest of the way, until he sat back on the warm grass. He brushed his hand through his black hair, which had grown too long since he was in the Dai Li's custody.

As he leaned back, anchoring himself against the ground with an outstretched palm, he considered what he could do. The fact was, nobody understood like he did. He knew how to reach out to her.

She beat him to it. "I know it's not fair," she admitted. "It's just… that's what I know of you."

She looked him up and down, sizing him up. She wasn't even half his age, but she was at least as observant.

"What's your story?" She asked. "Obviously, the Earth Queen caught you, but what were you before you became an airbender?"

He took a breath as if to answer, but he hesitated.

Finally, he released his breath. "To be honest, I don't know my story," he started. "I never knew my parents, so I have no idea where I came from."

That caught her attention. She snapped to, raising a finger to point out what he said. "Never? That's horrible!"

"Not really," he realized. "I mean, you don't miss what you never had." His hand ruffled the grass, and when his fingers caught in a tuft he started pulling at it without thinking.

"As long as I can remember, we just bounced around from place to place, making our way as best we could." Memories flooded back to him, and a smile spread across his lips. "I guess you'd call us street rats. The best of Ba Sing Se!"

"'We'?"

She must have been waiting on that, not wanting to interrupt. Truth be told, Brok hadn't even noticed he used that word. 

* * *

Opal's small frame formed a silhouette against the glass enclosing of the bridge. From where he stood, Bolin could see the shadow of her hand waving at least a hundred feet above his head. As the ship rose higher and higher, the sun began to poke out from behind the ship, and he had no choice but to look away. He raised his hand in a final wave, and that was it.

But it wasn't. After finally coming out to her parents as an airbender, Opal decided to head to the Northern Air Temple, where she could join the others. Within a few days, they would follow right behind her.

Still, it felt like a loss. Opal was sweet, she was comfortable, and she was his rock in this place. As incredible as this city was, it felt hollow without her.

Which is probably why he didn't realize that the sun finished its descent. The sky was now totally dark, glittering with the faint starlight. How much time had passed? What happened?

 _rrrrmm_

That was what woke him from his stupor. The distant hum and soft rumble of the domes closing over the city.

Even once he was totally cut off from the night sky, Bolin continued staring through the impenetrable metal. Cut off from what he really wanted, but finally knowing who it was.

"Bo."

Mako? Mako! Bolin turned around just as his brother reached him, clasping the shoulder of the young earthbender from behind. "Oh, hey Mako," he noticed solemnly.

His older brother pursed his lips, fixing Bolin with a worried look.

Bolin turned back toward the same spot of the dome he was just staring at.

"Hey, cheer up, bro," Mako began. "We'll see her again soon."

Bolin brushed it off, barely hearing the firebender's words. The hand that clasped his shoulder hung there, but it wasn't a bridge.

"Come on!" Mako took on a tougher tone, perplexed with the younger brother's behavior. "You've known her for, what? A week? And you'll see her in another!"

Mako was right. He knew he was acting weird. Any other day, he would've been out tromping around with a big grin slapped across his face, finding all sorts of cool things to get up to in a place like this. And what, was he doing it again? Getting all wrapped up in some girl he hardly knew? He should've learned his lesson by now.

But something was different. Opal was different. She wasn't just some pretty girl who paid attention to him like Eska or Ginger. They bared their souls to each other. They were something else.

"You know, Bolin, you're a lot like Dad," Mako observed.

That was a new one. Bolin was so young when they died, he hardly knew their parents. And Mako? He never liked talking about them. So when he looked over his shoulder at his older brother, Bolin raise his eyebrow.

"Yeah!" Mako went on once he knew he caught Bolin's interest. "He used to tell me how he would fall head over heels for anyone… until he met Mom. Then everything changed. She changed him."

Bolin turned his whole body to his brother, brushing away the tear that welled in his eye. "'He would fall head over heels for anyone'?"

His brother smirked. "Yeah, not the best story to tell your kid now that I think about it, but it seemed really nice at the time."

A smile curled across Bolin's lips, and he stifled a laugh.

Then that feeling went away. He turned back away from the firebender, looking back toward the dome. This time, he wasn't looking at the metal, or at some airship far away, but beyond all that. "Tell me how it happened." 

* * *

_His parents told him the city never slept, but here it did. The street they walked on was lit only by the glow of the full moon above them, and the bustle of cars roaring around Republic City were distant, hardly audible above their footsteps. He should've been scared. He would've been scared. But his parents walked along either side of them, and they were invincible._

" _Daaaad can't I have one NOW?" Mako whined. He looked up at his father with a toothy grin, pleading for one of the pastries he carried._

" _Hey, little guy, if you start eating them now then we won't have any left for Bolin!" His father explained._

 _That was kinda the plan! Earlier that night he and Bo convinced their parents to make a quick run to Shu's. It wasn't often that they got any of these treats, but every now and then Shu would let them have whatever was left. And tonight they hit the motherload! Problem was, his share would get a lot smaller once they got back to their apartment._

" _But Bolin told me he didn't want any!" He reasoned thoughtfully._

 _His mother chuckled. "Oh did he? Well, maybe I'll take them then!"_

" _NO!" Mako yelled. "I mean, don't you think we should share?"_

 _He looked up and saw his parents staring into each other eyes, smirking as they continued walking toward their apartment. It was quite a ways away yet, but it was worth it for this stuff._

" _Would you look at that?" His dad observed. "He CAN be taught!" He patted Mako's back with a soft slap, hugging him into his leg._

 _Then he felt a tug. His mom, still holding his left hand, froze in her tracks. He looked up, wondering what was taking her so long, when he saw something in her eyes that he never saw before: fear._

 _Not knowing what could possibly cause his mom to react like that, he followed her gaze toward the end of the block. A hooded figure stood there, and in its palm flickered a small flame. Big enough to notice, to know he was there, but too small to make out any real detail._

" _Found you." It was a woman's voice._

" _H-how…?" His father stammered. It was the first time Mako ever heard him waver._

 _His mother, however, took on a more defiant tone. "Get our son out of here."_

" _I'M NOT LEAVI—" His father began._

 _His voice cut off when her hand pressed into his chest. A hand that should assure him. "I can handle her. Just get Mako out of here. NOW!"_

 _There was no discussion. No more room for hesitation. His father grabbed the back of his shirt, ushering him down the street they came from._

 _Mako glanced back in time to see another light. His mother's._

 _And then several more._

 _His eyes widened._

" _COME ON!" His father screamed, pushing him faster._

 _He refocused on the terrain in front of him, and they darted down another street. Then another. He was panting, drained from running as long as he had, and his father knew it. They paused for a moment, and his father looked around. They stopped in front of a tunnel, one that led through the maze of apartments, and his father ushered him into it._

 _He fell to his knees, struggling to catch his breath. "Dad!" He cried. "Dad! What's going on?!"_

 _His father took a knee, hunkering over the young firebender. "Don't go out there, Mako." He grasped both of the boy's shoulders, fixating his attention with a worried stare. "Stay here. We'll come back for you."_

 _What? As his father stood, Mako processed what that meant. "P-please don't l-leave me. I'm sc-scared." He sniffed._

 _His father knelt back down in front of him. This time, instead of worry, it was a look of love that painted his face. "Tell you what," he said, placing a hand on his scarf. "Wear this, and it'll be like I'm right beside you."_

 _He wrapped the scarf around the four year old's neck, fixing him with one last smile. "Close your eyes and count to a hundred." He instructed. "Your mom and I will be back in no time."_

 _Mako nodded through the tears, wondering if this was one of those promises his dad couldn't keep._

 _An earth wall erected in front of him, blocking off the pathway, and Mako started counting. "1… 2…"_

* * *

"They never came back," Mako winced.

Bolin never heard this story before. Of course, he knew what happened. He knew that it was a firebender. He knew that they were killed. But he never knew it like that. "Wow." The only sound he could muster.

Mako took a moment, fingers perched on the bridge of his nose. When he finally looked up again, he surprised Bolin. "That night changed me. Obviously. But for the better."

He raised an eyebrow at his older brother. How could anything good have come out of that night?

"When I finally picked myself up, I got to head home to my little brother," he explained. "I was just a little kid, barely knew how to tie my shoes, but I got to be there for him. I got to raise him. I got to take care of him." He paused. "We're closer than we ever would have been."

"So what?" Bolin didn't understand the point. "That makes it all okay?"

"Of course not!" He reached out to Bolin again, grabbing his shoulder. "What I'm saying is… sometimes life sucks. But all that means is that it WILL get better."

Somehow, Mako knew just what to say. 

* * *

_**Notes from the author:**_

 _ **This chapter was initially meant to be part of a larger one, but I decided that it's tied together thematically in a perfect little bow. For that reason, this chapter's significantly shorter than most, but it's very dense. I hope you enjoyed!**_

 _ **The Mako/Bolin backstory is inspired in large part by Siquia's artwork (find it on DeviantArt). As much as I wanted to avoid adapting anyone else's work, once I saw it I couldn't imagine it any other way.**_

 _ **No, it's not fluff.**_


	5. The Terror Within

Wei laid motionless under the covers, half asleep. Earlier that day, he said goodbye to his baby sister—who, by the way, magically developed airbending, because of course she did—and she flew off to the Northern Air Temple. He and Wing stayed up for hours obsessing over how their innocent little sister was the first to leave Zaofu, and so it was a long day. Even now, his brain was busy recounting all this crap rather than letting him get some well-deserved shut eye.

His leg spasmed as an itch worked its way up his calf, and that was it; he was awake.

He turned to his brother, with whom he shared a room even now, at 22 damn years. Not that he minded. Everyone thought they were practically the same person, two halves of one whole, and he had to admit they weren't far off. Which was why he knew Wing was awake.

" _Yo bro!"_ He whispered.

Wing was laying on his stomach on the next bed, with his head turned to face the wall rather than Wei. He didn't make a sound.

" _Broooo!"_ He tried again.

"Hrrrmm." Wing groaned.

Wei propped himself up on an elbow, facing his barely conscious twin, and the covers slipped down to his waist.

He scratched his neck in the middle of a big yawn, waking himself up even more. Before he got the chance to open his mouth again, though, a pillow smacked him square in the face.

"HEY!" He shouted at the little prick. He grabbed the pillow under his arm, deciding to hold it hostage rather than let Wing get back to sleep. "Probably shouldn't throw your only pillow, nerd."

His brother rolled onto his back, groaning once again. "I hate you."

Then they heard a clatter outside their door.

Wing finally raised his head off his bed, and the young metalbenders looked at each other. Wei might've been awake, but that didn't mean he wanted to jump out of bed. It was probably nothing.

"It was probably nothing," Wing suggested, reading Wei's mind. "Now gimme my fucking pillow."

Wei pursed his lips. He didn't want to, but he had to. He shed the last of his covers and leapt out of bed, stumbling through the shadows of their room until he found the door.

"My pillow!" Wing shouted.

Wei didn't pay him any attention. He pressed his ear against the door, listening for any more sounds, but when none came he decided to turn the knob. The door opened to reveal yet another dark room, lit only by what little light could stream in through the door way down the hall.

He—wait, he rubbed his eyes. He looked back toward the door, and HOLY SHIT THEY HAD THE AVATAR! There were four men wearing dark cloaks, each holding onto one of Korra's limbs as they lugged her limp body through the doorframe.

He didn't hesitate for another second. "LET HER GO!" He shouted. As he did, he banged his hand into the wall, summoning a chunk of rock into the air, and he flipped around to kick it toward the intruders. "Wing! Get help!"

He heard his brother scramble out of bed. As often as they screwed with each other, they knew when to take each other seriously. Wing didn't need to see the danger to know it was real.

Unfortunately, the rock that Wei hurtled at the kidnappers sailed into the ground just outside the door, and they were gone.

He sprinted down the corridor to catch up, banging on doors and screaming as he did so. "UP! UP! EVERYONE UP! THEY HAVE KORRA!"

Behind him, the sound of confused groans echoed throughout the apartments. He could only hope they got their shit together in time.

As soon as Wei's bare feet met the ground outside, the dome erupted into chaos; Wing got the message across. Sirens blared, floodlights combed through the entire complex, and guards moved into action.

Wei froze where he stood just outside the building, scouring the environment. The lights finally fixated on the four men rushing further into the dome, and he had his targets.

"Let's go!" Wing caught up just as he started running again.

He could hear the avatar's friends scrambling behind them, but there was no time to wait around for them to catch up. He and Wing ran.

They ran, but that didn't mean they caught up. The intruders moved inhumanly fast, and it wasn't until a barricade of guards forced itself in their way that the twins thought there was any chance they would reach them. However, even the barricade didn't slow them down. As the intruders neared the guards, they group leapt onto the wall on their left, running alongside it with Korra in tow until they were well past the barricade.

That made Wei worry. His family was made up of the best earthbenders, but even they rarely pulled off any shit like that. There's only one group he knew of that did that.

As they continued running, he looked over at his twin. "Dai Li?" He hoped he was wrong, but he knew he wasn't.

Thanks to their constant movement, Wei could barely make out his brother's grim-faced nod.

The Dai Li finally came to a stop just 100 feet from the dome, and Wei realized something. "Wait… the hell? They're already trapped!"

He and his brother finally stopped maybe 20 feet from their targets. Wing huffed. "Heh. Dumbasses!"

Then the ground rumbled with enough ferocity to level a small town, and the nearest guard tower exploded in a fiery blaze.

As the tower crumbled to the ground, so did the nearest petal of the dome.

* * *

For the briefest moment, she felt secure. She felt like they won. She felt like Korra would be safe.

But then that moment left her.

When the explosion rippled throughout the compound, she was surprised. Not angry, not scared, and not worried. But then the petal fell loose, and Asami realized that the mechanisms keeping the dome in place were hidden in the guard towers. As the rubble of the nearest tower settled, the petal that once blocked the Dai Li's exit crashed on its hinges.

 _BOOOOM_

Sounds of screeching metal followed the crash, the petal's own weight threatening to rip the entire thing off its hinges. If the entire dome weren't alert before, it sure as hell was now.

The Dai Li raced toward their exit, a mere 50 feet ahead of them without any guards there to stop them. Metalbenders flung cables from behind, trying to pin them down, but the Dai Li were too fast and too crafty.

Asami kept sprinting.

They were 30 feet from the dome.

20 feet.

10.

"UGHHHH!" She screamed in frustration, hopelessly outpaced by the elite earth benders.

Korra disappeared behind the petal as the Dai Li dove through the opening, freefalling from the corner where the downed petal met one that still stood.

Mako had been running alongside her, but he stopped in order to unleash a fireball that sailed fruitlessly into the open air outside the city.

To her left, Kuvira kept up with Asami's frantic pace.

Asami met her gaze, and she willed a silent conversation to her friend. She must've appeared so cold. Stone-faced. Determined. But it got the message across: she wasn't going to stop.

She kept running, and she closed in on the downed petal. Her feet crashed down on the cold platinum, and she kept moving. Around her, the world was totally black, as if the only thing in existence was the fraction of the dome laid out before her. Her eyes would adjust to the darkness eventually. Hopefully it would be in time.

She edged closer to the corner of the petal, where the world disappeared into blackness, and her feet landed on a different metal, one that could be bent. Kuvira fell behind as Asami pushed on, and as her foot landed on the very last inch of the dome, the metal rose above her, flinging her into the air.

Her momentum propelled her through the air, and her eyes could finally make out the scene before her. Rather than spotting the four Dai Li escaping with Korra, she found something else.

She found an entire legion of the Earth Kingdom's military.

And her momentum brought them closer and closer.

* * *

"We should be out there right now," the earthbender whined.

The burly kid had spirit, but he wasn't thinking it through. "We can't just take on the entire Earth Kingdom," his brother explained. Mako tended to be reasonable, even cynical, and that's why Lin kept him around as a detective.

Still, even she was playing out their possible moves. Hiding in the city simply wasn't an option. She turned to her sister, visibly distraught after the chaos that tore her city apart just an hour ago. "Su," she began, unsure of how to ask this. "The Earth Queen—"

"I have no love for the Earth Queen," Su interrupted. "She's a rotten bitch, and I've been a thorn in her side for decades." She paused, apparently considering the weight of that statement. "Honestly, this might have less to do with Korra and more with that."

Lin couldn't believe she just minced her words earlier. Su didn't warrant a gentle touch. "You have to be kidding me. The avatar was just kidnapped, her friend's gone, and somehow you've twisted this around to be all about you?!"

For a moment, Su looked taken aback, but then it faded. Could she admit that Lin was right? Of course not! But, hey, what did she expect?

Lin looked around the room. Anxious faces were all around her, worried that the ranks of Earth Kingdom soldiers outside might break at any moment, flooding the city. Even if the domes were up, that didn't stop the Dai Li earlier.

Now, Su's children, Mako, Bolin, and an array of guards stood around the expansive room, recovering from the shock of what just transpired. Every civilian, even Lin, was still dressed for sleep, and Lin suddenly felt self-conscious about her form-fitting muscle shirt and joggers.

One of the twins broke the silence. "We can't exactly take on the E.K. one for one, but that doesn't mean we should wait around for them to get bored and leave."

The other twin finished the thought. "We could slip out of here, just like the Dai Li slipped in, and go get Korra!"

"Absolutely not!" Su shouted. "It's one thing for you boys to have stepped up last night, but I'm not sending you into any more danger."

That caught Lin by surprise. Last time Lin saw her sister, she was always a free spirit, drifting through the world on a whim. Hell, she just sent her youngest off to train with the airbenders! The twins weren't her eldest, that was Baatar Jr., but they were older and probably better equipped than Team Avatar. It seemed… unnecessary to keep them locked away.

Of course, this wasn't the time to correct her parenting decisions. "You're right," she feigned agreement. "Zaofu can't be seen to go against the Earth Queen. This nation doesn't need factions cropping up every which way." She turned to Mako and Bolin. "And the United Republic can't, either. Starting this fight would be an act of war."

"SHE STARTED IT!" Bolin responded frantically.

"She took Korra," Mako followed up. "She brought the fight to our doorstep. What are we supposed to do, just LET her take the avatar?"

Obviously, they were right. But so was Lin. Neither Zaofu nor the United Republic could make a move against the Earth Queen without setting off chaos. It was unfair, and the Earth Queen DID start it, but that didn't change anything.

Which was why she needed to cut the boys' ties to the URN.

"Enough!" She cut them down. "I'm the Chief of Police of Republic City. I can't fight the Earth Queen."

A sideways glance at Su told her that her sister understood.

"She's right, boys. We can't fight her." Su finished.

Then Lin turned to Aiwei. "Besides, we have other problems to take care of."

* * *

"What is your full name?" Aiwei began.

"My name is Zhu Guan," The guard replied with an even tone.

One after another, every guard in Zaofu came before him, and he feigned an interrogation. The process was arduous, even when he didn't know from the beginning that the entire thing would be fruitless, but this was his power. This was why he was here, and it was why he would always be here. So he played the part. He dug into every last guard, and he put on a show.

Sometimes he would pry into a particular guard. Not for any reason, really, but it kept him interested. Over the years, he came to know the guards very well, and the Beifong's, too. Not one of them had any secrets from him, even if they thought they did. None.

All that said, he had a job to do. "What is your full name?"

"My name is Hong Li."

That piqued his interest, for he knew the guards. There were two Zhu Guan's, one Torma, and three Ghenzo's, but there were no Hong Li's.

This man was not from here.

Aiwei clasped his fingers in front of him, resting his chin on the bridge they formed. This was… surprising.

The man was pale. Not out of fear, just pale. His jet black hair sat in a tousled mess, making him look younger, less threatening. He wondered if that were intentional.

His gray eyes stared back at Aiwei, exuding innocence, and he found himself wondering if he jumped ahead.

"Where are you from?" The interrogation commenced.

"I was born and raised in Omashu," he responded.

"And what brought you to Zaofu?"

"My family sent me away when I was eight years old. I escaped just before the Earth Queen took the city and deposed the King," he explained.

Aiwei narrowed his eyes. It didn't make sense. Why would he be here? Neither the Earth Queen nor the Red Lotus had any reason to send another guard his way, and so he had to know: who was playing him?

He was supposed to be the one with all the answers, but right now he had nothing but questions. Questions that he couldn't ask in present company.

"Do you have any knowledge of the attack last night?"

"Only what I've heard. I was asleep when it happened, in a separate part of the city. What I know now is that the Earth Kingdom has surrounded the city, and it feels _very_ familiar."

He was intrigued, hanging on the edge of the stranger's response, but Aiwei needed to steer him elsewhere. So he stiffened, leaning forward to address the false guard. "Did you help the attackers enter Zaofu last night?"

Confusion painted the man's face. "What? No! I just told you, I wasn't even anywhere near there!"

Aiwei sat back in his chair, and he let silence fall around the room. He let the tension build. "You're lying."

"No I'm not!"

Su leapt over the table, pushing past Aiwei as she did, and she threw the man into the wall behind him. Grabbing the green collar of the undergarment that lined his metal uniform, she pinned him to the wall. "How did they get in and out?! Why would you betray your post?!"

Hong Li wasn't just shocked; he was horrified. "I don't know! I'm telling you, I don't know!"

"YOU'RE A TRAITOR TO THE ENTIRE CLAN!" She screamed at him.

She tossed him to the floor, and, without missing a beat, she whisked her way out the door. Maybe it was that she couldn't trust herself with him, but it didn't matter; Aiwei had what he wanted. He looked to the two guards standing on either side of the doorway, and he gave them their marching orders. Take him away." He would continue this in private.

Or so he thought. As he dusted himself off, planning to head straight to the prisoner, he found himself slammed into the wall suddenly. Hidden just within the doorframe, he couldn't quite see where Su stormed off to, but it was her sister, Lin, who filled his vision. She remained quiet throughout the many interrogations, and he almost forgot she was there. That was a mistake. She was a wildcard; one of few people in the city he didn't have a solid read on. What was written on her face? Anger? No. She wasn't angry with him. Not fearful, not suspicious. She was determined.

He put his arms up in surrender, stretching them around the cage she locked him in with her body. "Lin," he spoke slowly. "What are you doing?"

Her forearm pressed into his collar. "The Earth Queen stole his home, and he found a new one here. He has every reason to hate them, and every reason to be loyal to Zaofu."

"And?" Suddenly, he felt uneasy. Could he play it off? "Perhaps they offered him money, or to return to his home." He could feel Lin's grasp loosen, and he pushed her off. "That's what we still need to figure out."

The metalbender jabbed a finger at him once more. "That's what I'm telling you." She put her hands to her sides, and her face appeared stern. "He has every reason to be loyal… to _Su_." She clarified. "So maybe it wasn't just a guard. Maybe it was someone a little higher up the food chain. Someone with a vested interest in fighting the Earth Queen.

Well, she wasn't wrong. And maybe he could use this.

So he followed her out of the interrogation room.

They found Su outside the compound. As a matter of fact, she sat on the patio outside Aiwei's own apartment. He knew why; they shared many talks in this very spot, talks in which he made her feel safe, where he lured her in.

The matriarch of his city sat quietly with her head in her hands. A cup of tea sat before her, still steaming from when she poured it moments ago. The woman could almost always be found with a hot cup of tea. It was a small detail, but it was a symptom of their ideological differences. Even if she were useful, and even if they found themselves on the same side in many matters, she had a disgusting fondness for the material. She could tell many stories of her bouncing around the world, scraping by with less than a toothbrush, but she changed. She built a city in a new image, her new image. Even Aiwei's own ridiculous nosepiece was just a means of placating her fanciful desires.

But now he had an ally, one who may very well want her gone even more than he did.

"Su, I'm afraid your sister has some concerns regarding the prisoner," he explained. "Although I've assured her that we will find out his motive, she has a startling theory. I thought you should know."

Su looked up at her sister, her hands now pulling her hair back and away from her face. "What is it?"

"Aiwei will be asking the questions," she replied curtly.

Surprised to have free reign over Lin's interrogation, Aiwei wasn't afraid to capitalize. "Su," he opened. "I am afraid I will have to be blunt. Did you assist the intruders in any way whatsoever?"

She was clearly shocked to hear the accusation, but the shock fell on Lin, not Aiwei. Good. "Of course not!"

Here, he had many options. It was still so early in the day, and the children had only just returned to sleep a couple of hours ago. Guards continued repairs to the downed tower in the distance, and nobody would pay them any attention. There were two strong options laying before him, and it was only a matter of which sister he wanted out of the picture. One that he hated, or one that he couldn't yet control.

He turned his attention to Lin, and he shook his head. "I'm afraid that your theory was incorrect," he explained to her. "Su did not assist the intruders."

He surprised himself. In that moment he had ammunition, the power to brush her out of the picture. Why let her off? Because it was a risk. First, it would turn Su against him immediately, and, second, there was a better target.

Su fixed her sister with a mixture of shame and disgust. "I can't believe… I-I just can't—"

It didn't take long for Aiwei to pick up on Lin's underlying aggression; he didn't need to be a truth seer to know that there was some kind of family drama. However, he didn't expect it to hit so hard. "Oh, you can't, can you?!" Lin reacted. Sarcasm littered her tone. "You've never done anything like THAT before!"

"Lin…" Su stammered. "That's not fair."

"Yes, Lin," Aiwei intervened with a soft yet critical tone. Ordinarily, he would be able to navigate a problem like this easily, because nobody had more answers than a truth seer. Unfortunately, in all the years he knew Su, whatever happened between her and her sister never came up. The fact was that he didn't know Lin, and he didn't like that. He could live with Su, but Lin was a liability. "Your accusations are entirely unfounded. Perhaps I should ask you, instead."

Lin took a step back, stunned by the turn of events. "What?"

He pressed forward. "Did you assist the intruders in any way whatsoever?"

A moment of silence hung between the trio. Su watched, not emotionless, but fascinated, with her mouth slightly agape. Clearly, she was keeping her distance from the situation, unsure of what laid before her. Lin, on the other hand, was pivoting toward the defensive, her lips curling into a visible growl.

"No." She stated matter-of-factly.

He didn't hesitate. His eyes shot wide, he took a step back, and he lied through his teeth. "My spirits…" he trailed off. The implication would drive the sisters against one another, and so he could exercise restraint. Let them finish.

Su couldn't find her voice. Her mouth hung open, struggling with the shock of his response. Confusion, surprise, and betrayal fluttered across her face. Then anger. Her eyes darted between Aiwei and Lin. "What's going on here?!"

"I cannot believe that you would—" he continued the ruse.

Soon, his job would be over. He would have the unknown prisoner within his reach, Su in his pocket, and Lin out of the way.

But it was Lin's response that surprised him.

"Do you see, Su?" She asked of her sister.

"I do," Su replied. As the younger Beifong wiped the false tears from her eyes, he knew he had been played. Somehow, for some reason, Su knew that Lin wasn't involved, and he just tipped his hand.

Lin shot a metal cable out from her gauntlet, but when it wrapped around Aiwei's arm he stopped it from taking hold. Instead, it fell loosely to the ground, and it was while she bent the cable back into place that he darted through the door of his apartment. He broke into the living room, and he spotted his escape just a short distance across the room.

The two sisters stormed in after him, and so he took a moment to secure his escape. With a flourish of his arms, he willed the metal barrier out of the floor, a move that would surprise them and buy him precious seconds to escape.

He began to turn as the barrier rose, and out of the corner of his eye he saw it freeze. One of them was prepared for it, preventing it from latching into the ceiling. But he couldn't spare an extra second to think about it. He fixed his attention on the cellar door in front of him, and he opened the door.

It was solid rock. Someone found the tunnel, and someone caved it in. And he knew who.

He turned back around to Lin and Su.

"End of the line, Aiwei," said he woman who destroyed his life.

"You did this to yourself," Su followed up. His eyes darted around the room, looking for an answer, looking for his next move. She went on. "When Lin told me… I didn't believe her. But you were _so_ ready to tear us down."

She looked tearful, like this tore her up. It didn't tear him up.

His eyes fell on the clay pot on the bookshelf nearby, and he bent it into his grasp. It was over, but there was one thing he could take solace in. "You have no idea what's coming for you," he promised.

He tilted the clay pot into his mouth, and the poison took him away.

* * *

Hours had passed, yet here they were, just outside of Aiwei's apartment. Lin could understand why his betrayal—even his suicide—would be hard for Su. He wasn't just her most trusted adviser or even just her friend; he was the filter between her and the rest of Zaofu. Now, she was probably wracking her brain. Who could she trust, if not Aiwei? Everything she thought she knew because Aiwei told her was suddenly called into question. She was alone.

But not completely.

Lin rested her hand on her sister's shoulder. "Su." Her voice was soft, level yet quiet. "I'm here."

Su looked back up at Lin. Just five minutes ago she looked like she was going to puke, but now there was something else there: hope. Lin smiled down at her.

Then the gruff voice of a female guard interrupted their moment. "We searched the entire estate. There's no sign of them. The avatar's friends are gone."

This time, Lin's smirk was for herself.

* * *

Silence.

Without a person around for miles, the intricate patterns of ice running between the lifeless barricades and ancient forest stretched across the otherwise barren plain. Littered only with a dusting of what remained after the Northern Water Tribe lost control of their base, the entire landscape was like a shrine to a lost civilization. The tattered fabric of the only standing tent fluttered around in the harsh wind, torn apart in the battle. The only structures remaining were the stone barriers, hastily erected and now blown out of place. Only a couple of months had passed since this fortress fell, but the severe climate wasted no time in reclaiming this battlefield.

Deep inside the ring of ice and rubble, a forest slashed across the landscape with a black streak. The only living things for miles. The only things that could live for miles. There were no leaves, no shrubbery; just the jagged branches, shielding the world from what laid inside.

The light that shone through the entire terrain wasn't from the sun, nor even the moon; the swirling blackness in the sky ensured that. The light that reached these branches and these stone ruins came from the portal at the center of all of this. Its blue hue struck every object, forcing shadows to run from its cold light.

The beacon struck the ice in a perfect orb. It was here that the two worlds collided. There was no hum, no heat, and no indication that this singular point in space bent the universe around it. Only light. And nobody to admire it.

The visible surface—if it could even be called a surface—of the Southern Spirit Portal cracked, and out of its seamless blue light stepped the gray robes of the first being to emerge in weeks. Yes, spirits poured out of the portal when it first opened, even thereafter, but as they filled up the world they abandoned the vicinity. This one would be no different.

Zaheer had a mission.

* * *

 _Notes from the author:_

 _Thanks for reading this far into my story! I won't lie, I've stalked the stats, and I'm surprised that it gets so many views! Don't be afraid to let me know what you think._

 _Unfortunately, the reason for this note isn't just to encourage reviews. I've decided that I should delay future updates for the time being, until I finish writing the first book. I came to this conclusion because I realized that I've simply been running through my outlines, expanding on the points listed in each chapter without regard for future events. Now that I'll withhold future updates until the book is finished, I'll be able to run back through each chapter before uploading them in order to make sure they set each other up better. This means that, if you like the story, then you're in for a wait, but it'll be even better once it comes back!_

 _Thanks for your support._


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